Men's basketball beats Luther in OT

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Leif Olson set the tone to start overtime and Chad Gutschenritter scored eight in the final period as the Simpson men's basketball team picked up a hard-fought, 95-91 win over Luther on Saturday evening.

Olson scored the first two points of overtime, blocked a shot on the defensive end and converted a three-point play after an offensive rebound to give the Storm (3-12, 1-3 Iowa Conference) the spark they needed to pick up their first conference win.

Charles Swain led three Simpson players with at least 20 points, scoring 24 on a 15-for-15 from the free throw line. Gutschenritter and Dillon Gretzky added 20 apiece.

Gutschenritter scored 18 points in the second half and overtime, finishing the game with five assists and just one turnover.

John Androus was two assists shy of a triple double, leading the Norse (8-7, 0-4) with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Jake Martin added 13 points and eight boards.

The back-and-forth affair saw 15 ties and 15 lead changes.

A first-year transfer from Truman State, Gutschenritter did his best to give Simpson the win in regulation. Trailing 76-75 with less than 30 seconds to go, the point guard made a driving layup with 23 seconds left, converting the and-one to give Simpson a 78-76 lead.

Androus drew a foul on the next possession and hit both free throws to tie it with 11 seconds remaining. The final play of regulation was for Gutschenritter, but his step-back jumper rimmed out as time expired.

In overtime, Olson was the recipient of a well-executed pick-and-roll pass from Swain that gave Simpson an 80-78 lead. After Olson's block, Gretzky made an acrobatic lay-in for a four-point cushion. After two Luther free throws made it 82-80, Gutschenritter nailed a 3 and Simpson led by no less than three the rest of the way.

Next up for Simpson is a trip to Pella on Wednesday, Jan. 22 against Central. The Dutch (9-6, 2-2) lost to Loras 70-60 on Saturday.