Men's basketball falls to Westminster

FULTON, Mo. – Charles Swain scored 21 points and Chad Gutschenritter made five 3-pointers but the Simpson men's basketball team couldn't overcome Joe James and Westminster in an 80-77 road loss on Saturday.

James scored 28 points, grabbed eight rebounds and went 17-for-18 from the free throw line to lead the Blue Jays (3-3). Verdis Lee, Jr. added 24 points and nine rebounds.

Gutschenritter finished with 17 points and five assists for the Storm (1-7), who shot nearly 49 percent from the field in the second half.  Dillon Gretzky added 14 points and Austin Hennings closed with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Gretzky hit a pair of free throws to give Simpson a 65-64 lead with 4:51 left in the game, but Westminster went on a 10-3 run over the next 4 minutes to take a 74-68 lead with 32 seconds left.

James went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to close it out.

Simpson has a week to get ready for a meeting with Jack Taylor and the Grinnell Pioneers on Saturday, Dec. 14. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Cowles Fieldhouse.