Amsbaugh, Stumbo help Storm hold on to beat Dubuque

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Sam Amsbaugh and Tyler Stumbo scored 22 points apiece and the Simpson men's basketball team led by as many as 16 in the first half, but had to rally in the closing minutes to beat Dubuque 87-83 on Wednesday.

Dubuque came all the way back to take a seven point lead with 4:35 to play but Simpson closed the game on an 18-7 run to earn its first Iowa Conference win of the season. Simpson made 23 free throws on the night and went 9-for-10 in the final 5 minutes.

Amsbaugh posted his third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds to go along with his 22 points, which puts him in the top-10 all-time at Simpson. Stumbo continued his recent tear, scoring 18 of his 22 in the second half while going a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe for the Storm (3-5, 1-2), who led 46-31 at halftime.

Simpson came back after watching its lead disappear in the second half. Trailing 83-79 with just over 1 minute left, Conor Riordan hit a 3 from the left wing to pull the Storm within one. Following a Dubuque turnover, Amsbaugh pulled down an offensive rebound and a drew a foul, making both free throws to give Simpson an 84-83 lead with 20 seconds left.

The Storm held Dubuque to one shot and done on the next two trips to secure the win.

Jamaree Atwater scored 26 points on 11-for-24 shooting to lead the Spartans (5-3, 0-3), who dropped their third straight after a 5-0 start.

Taylor Filbert was a big reason Simpson jumped out to an early lead, scoring 13 of his 15 in the opening frame on 4-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc.

Key Players
Sam Amsbaugh — 22 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 12-17 FTs
Tyler Stumbo — 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 7-7 FTs
Conor Riordan — 18 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Taylor Filbert — 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4-7 3FGs

Up Next
Sunday, Dec. 17 | vs. Olivet | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Game Notes
• Simpson is now 68-82 in the all-time series with Dubuque and has won two in a row.
• The Storm improved to 3-1 on the year when tying or out-rebounding their opponent after matching Dubuque with 32 boards. Simpson is 0-4 when it gets beat on the boards.
• Simpson snapped a four-game losing streak, which tied for the longest in Brad Bjorkgren's two-plus seasons as head coach.
• The Storm have been ahead or behind by at least 14 points in all three IIAC games this season, yet the average final margin in those games is just 4.7 points. Simpson trailed by 16 against Buena Vista, 14 against Nebraska Wesleyan and led by 16 against Dubuque.
• Amsbaugh posted his third double-double of the season and 12th of his career. He has now scored in double-figures in 13 straight games dating back to last season.
• He moved up to No. 10 in school history in scoring and now has 1,160 career points. He passed Scott Clark (1,145 from 1979-83) and Tom Hensley (1,157 from 1962-65) on Wednesday.
• Stumbo continued his recent tear with 22 points against Dubuque. In the last three games he is averaging 23.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg and is shooting 59 percent from the field. That's up from 5.4/3.8/31.6 in the first five games of the season.