Men's basketball tops AIB for first win

DES MOINES, Iowa - Charles Swain scored 22 points, Chad Gutschenritter was nearly automatic from the free throw line and the Simpson men's basketball team held off AIB, 82-76 on Wednesday night for its first win of the season.

Gutschenritter made 11 of 12 free throws - including going a perfect 10-for-10 in the second half - and finished with 18 points as the Storm (1-6) made 27 of 34 from the charity stripe on the night.

Dillon Gretzky scored 16 points and made three cruicial free throws down the stretch. He hit one of two to put Simpson up 79-76 with 17 seconds to go. Then, on the ensuing inbounds play, Gutschenritter alertly went to the floor to steal a loose ball before Gretzky went to the line again. He made both on his second trip to give Simpson a comfortable 81-76 advantage with 10 seconds left.

Tre Brown came off the bench to score a team-high 16 points for the Eagles (0-10), who trailed by as many as 12 in the first half. AIB took a 65-64 after an Austin Rath layup with just under 6 minutes to play.

Simpson goes for win No. 2 when it travels to Westminster (Mo.) on Saturday, Dec. 7.