Storm dominate Hope, win North Park Tournament

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Conor Riordan scored 20 points, a dominating defense set the tone early, and the Simpson men's basketball team routed Hope 73-55 on Saturday to win the North Park Tournament.

Just one day after scoring 139 points in a win over Greenville, the Flying Dutchmen (1-1) managed just 18 points in the first half and shot just 39 percent for the game, including 4-for-20 from 3-point range.

Adam Reiter scored 15 points and John Barbee had 14 and nine rebounds for the Storm (3-1), who won their third-straight game after an opening night loss to Bethany Lutheran.

A close game for most of the first half, Simpson pulled away with a 13-0 run to close the opening frame.

The Storm led 23-18 when Ben Rajewski made a pair of free throws. Layups by Reiter and Barbee extended the lead to 29-18 and back-to-back buckets by Tyler Stumbo gave Simpson a 36-18 lead at the break.

Barbee made a short jumper to start the second half, extending the lead to 20 before Hope ended a nearly 8 minute scoring drought.

Preston Granger scored 18 points to lead Hope, who won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association a year ago and was picked second in this year's preseason coaches' poll.

Simpson shot just 4-for-19 from 3-point range, but made up for the inconsistent shooting with a harassing defense. The Storm forced Hope into 19 turnovers which turned into 25 points.

UP NEXT

Simpson hosts No. 10 Wis.-Platteville at Cowles Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Nov. 20. Start time is set for 7 p.m.