Turner’s 28 leads Storm to crucial win over Dubuque

INDIANOLA, Iowa — Austin Turner scored a career-high 28 points and the Simpson men's basketball team shot lights-out in the second half, beating Dubuque going away 79-69 on Wednesday night.

Trailing by 10 early in the game, the Storm (14-9, 7-7 Iowa Conference) closed the first half on a 16-2 run and led the rest of the way. Simpson shot 63 percent from the field in the second half.

Sam Amsbaugh scored 13 points and Sabonis Smith added 12 as Simpson snapped a two-game losing streak and split the season series with Dubuque. Turner scored 19 of his 28 in the second half, going 8-for-12 from the field for the game and 3-for-4 from downtown. 

Dubuque cut the lead to one four times in the second half, but Simpson never relinquished the lead, getting answers from Turner, Smith and Ryan Skaar. 

Henry Thompson's 3 made it 66-64 with 3:56 left. Turner responded with a 3-point play and a 3 from the top of the key with 2:39 left, giving Simpson a 73-66 lead as part of a 10-3 run to close the game.

Jake Weber scored 13 points and pulled down 13 boards to lead the Spartans (9-13, 6-7). Jacob Mohlis scored 19 points but Dubuque went just 9-for-20 from the free throw line. 

Simpson trailed 24-14 in the first half before Turner's jumper ignighted a 16-0 run. Turner scored nine points during the surge as the Storm took a 30-26 lead into halftime. Dubuque went just over 7 minutes without a point during the stretch before getting basket in the closing seconds.

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Simpson travels to play Central on Suatrday, Feb. 11. The Dutch (12-10, 6-7) lost to Loras 82-71 on Wednesday.