First half run helps men's basketball top Augsburg

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Charles Swain scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half and was integral to a late first-half run that helped Simpson pull away in a 66-53 win over Augsburg on Sunday afternoon.

After going 2-for-10 from the field in Saturday's loss to Gustavus Adolphus, Swain responded by going 3-for-6 from 3-point range and knocking down 6 of 7 from the free throw line.

Simpson went 21-for-29 from the charity stripe as a team, a vast improvement over Saturday's 8-for-18 showing.

Chad Gutschenritter scored 11 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the line and DJ Dafney added 11 to help the Storm (1-1) earn their first win of the young season.

Trailing early in the contest, Simpson pieced together a run that proved too much for the Auggies (1-1) to overcome.

Swain converted a four-point play late in the half and hit another 3 to help Simpson out-score Augsburg 20-9 over the final 13:15. DJ Dafney hit a 3 to spark the run and Jamie Montgomery knocked down a trey from the top of the key with 2:20 left to open up a 28-16 advantage.

Montgomery's 3 closed a 14-0 run that spanned more than 8 minutes.

Brett Rasmussen posted a 22-point, 13-rebound double-double for Augsburg, which out-rebounded Simpson 40-24. 

Augsburg cut Simpson's lead to 36-32 with 13:32 left in the game, but Austin Turner answered with a 3 from the left wing and Dillon Gretzky sliced to the hoop for a layup to build the lead back to nine. 

Up Next

The Storm travel to St. Paul, Minn. for the Northwestern/ACR Homes Tip-Off Tournament. Simpson plays host school Northwestern (Minn.) on Friday and takes on North Central (Minn.) on Saturday.