Storm men hot from 3 in win over Luther

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Sam Amsbaugh came off the bench to score 16 points, Dillon Gretzky and Ryan Skaar had 15 apiece and the Simpson men's basketball team beat Luther 76-59 on Saturday.

Gretzky added 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, as he and Skaar combined to make eight of the team's 13 3-pointers. Skaar went 5-for-10 from downtown for the Storm (11-6, 4-2 Iowa Conference), who won for the fourth time in five tries.

"The guys played exteremely hard, and they are putting themselves in a position where every game is a big game," head coach Brad Bjorkgren said. 

Skaar hit two deep 3s and Gretzky canned one from the corner during a 15-0 run early in the second half that put Simpson in the driver's seat. A Leif Olson jumper started the charge with 18:08 left and Amsbaugh closed it out with a pair of free throws at the 12:58 mark, giving Simpson a 54-35 edge.

Nathan Meyer had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Norse (3-14, 2-4).

Luther led for most of the first half before a late run gave Simpson a 36-29 lead at the break. Jared Nicolaisen hit a 3 to make it 29-28, but Amsbaugh responded with a 3-point play. Ben Rajewski hit a 3 from the right wing and Amsbaugh beat the buzzer with a short jumper from the left corner after scooping up a loose ball. 

Simpson dominated on the boards, outrebounding Luther 41-28. Simpson shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, including 7-for-12 from downtown.

Up next: Simpson goes to Central on Wednesday, Jan. 27 to complete the first time through the conference schedule. The Dutch (12-5, 3-3) lost to Buena Vista 97-94 in overtime Saturday.