Valiant effort falls short, Simpson loses to Coe in OT

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Ryan Skaar had a career night and all five starters reached double figures, but the Simpson men's basketball team couldn't get over the hump in an 81-74 overtime loss to Coe on Wednesday.

Matt Daoust had 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Kohawks (15-9, 9-4 Iowa Conference), who scored the first six points in overtime and never looked back. JT Vonderhaar had nine points and 12 rebounds and Christian Fahey had 15 points.

Simpson led by five with 1:42 left when Fahey converted a three-point play. After a Simpson miss, Fahey got behind the defense again, tying the game 70-70 with 54 seconds left. Skaar took Simpson's final shot in regulation, but his runner went long as time expired.

Getting his third-straight start, Skaar came through with a team-high 20 points, going 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Charles Swain and DJ Dafney had 12 points apiece, Austin Turner had 11 and five assists and Leif Olson had 11 and eight rebounds for the Storm (6-18, 1-12), who couldn't avoid their 11th loss in a row.

Simpson trailed by six at the break but got a spark from Dafney in the second when he stole a pass and went the length of the court, finishing with a thunderous one-hand slam. Turner hit the go-ahead 3 on the next possession, Skaar added another and Turner nailed a jumper to cap a 12-0 run that gave Simpson a 55-48 lead.

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Simpson hosts Loras in the final game of the season Saturday, Feb. 21. The Duhawks (9-15, 4-9) lost to Central 74-61 on Wednesday. Loras won the first meeting 78-66 in Dubuque on Jan. 14.