Cold second half costly for Simpson in 71-53 loss to AIB

DES MOINES, Iowa - A strong second half by AIB was too much for the Simpson men's basketball team to overcome in a 71-53 loss on Tuesday night.

Simpson led 29-28 at halftime but AIB went on a 15-6 run to start the second half, opening up a double-digit lead in the process.

Ryan Skaar came off the bench to score 11 points and lead the Storm (3-5), who shot 50 percent from the field in the first half but went just 8 of 23 in the second.

Adebayo Babalola scored 15 points as the Eagles (7-2) won their third straight.

Trailing 35-32 early in the second half, Charles Swain hit a 3 to pull Simpson even. Babalola answered with a 3 of his own before adding a layup and another triple for an individual 8-0 run. Mychael Brawner's layup at the 9:55 mark made it 50-39 and AIB never led by less than 11 the rest of the way.

Simpson struggled to take care of the ball, committing a season-high 27 turnovers that resulted in 25 points for AIB.

The win marks the first-ever for AIB against Simpson in a series that began in 2011-12. Simpson was 5-0 against its neighbors to the North entering Tuesday's game.

Up Next: Simpson has 10 days to prepare for its clash with Grinnell on Saturday, Dec. 13. Jack Taylor and the high-scoring Pioneers (3-3) were averaging 122.7 points per game following last week's action. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. from Grinnell.