Men's basketball done in by Central in OT

PELLA, Iowa - Kevin Kaerwer hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 8 seconds left in overtime and Ryan Olson misfired on the potential game-winner as Central beat the Simpson men's basketball team 84-83 on Wednesday.

Olson gave Simpson the lead just moments earlier, hitting a 3 for an 83-81 lead with 37 seconds left. Simpson didn't use a timeout following Kaerwer's 3 as Olson couldn't connect with 2 seconds left.

Chad Gutschenritter scored 22 points, Charles Swain had 18 and Dillon Gretzky 14 for the Storm (3-13, 1-4 Iowa Conference), who were playing their second overtime game in a row. They beat Luther 95-91 on Saturday.

Olson finished with 10 points off the bench and Swain went 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Swain is now 33-for-34 from the line in the last three games, including a streak of 25 makes in a row.

Kaerwer scored 23 points and Matt Greenfield had 25 and 16 rebounds for the Dutch (10-6, 3-2).

Central trailed 74-70 after a Gutschenritter free throw with 54 seconds left in regulation, but Kaerwer hit two layups in the closing seconds to force overtime.

Simpson trailed by nine early but outscored Central 15-6 to close the first half with a 44-38 halftime lead.

The Storm return home to host Wartburg on Saturday, Jan. 25. The Knights (8-8, 2-3) lost to Buena Vista 79-67 on Wednesday.