MBB Preview: Storm host national champions

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson Storm men's basketball team hosts the unbeaten and defending national champion Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves in American Rivers Conference action Wednesday, Jan. 9. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Cowles Fieldhouse.

The Storm picked up a much-needed 86-71 win over Dubuque on Saturday behind 21 points from Kyle Wagner. The No. 1 Prairie Wolves cruised to an 89-71 win over No. 20 Loras, extending their winning streak to 26 games.

Nebraska Wesleyan's last loss was against Simpson on Jan. 27, 2018. The Storm won 102-97 in overtime and the Prairie Wolves haven't lost since.

The game will be video streamed live on SimpsonAthletics.com. Fans can also access the game via the American Rivers application on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

GAME 14
No. 1 Nebraska Wesleyan (13-0, 4-0) at Simpson (9-4, 3-2)
Wednesday, Jan. 9 | 8 p.m.
Cowles Fieldhouse | Indianola, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats

NEBRASKA WESLEYAN SERIES NOTES
Simpson and Nebraska Wesleyan are meeting for 50th time in a series that dates back to the 1906-07 season … Nebraska Wesleyan leads the series 28-21 and has won 7 of 8.

RECENT RESULTS
1.27.18 — W, 102-97, OT (Indianola)
12.2.17 — L, 94-85 (Lincoln)
2.4.17 — L, 73-72 (Lincoln)
1.4.17 — L, 92-81 (Indianola)

ABOUT THE PRAIRIE WOLVES
Nebraska Wesleyan and fifth-year head coach Dale Wellman bring a 26-game winning streak and a perfect 13-0 record into Wednesday's game … the Prairie Wolves are one of four unbeaten teams in Division III … they have been dominant, beating teams by an average of 20.5 points per game … as a team, NWU ranks third in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.79), second in field goal percentage (56.0) and seventh in scoring (94.8 ppg) … five players average double figures in scoring, led by Nate Schimonitz's 19.6 ppg … reigning A-R-C Player of the Week Ryan Garver averages 15.9 ppg.

LAST TIME OUT
Kyle Wagner scored a career-high 21 points and the Storm put together a dominant second half in beating Dubuque 86-71 on Saturday. Wagner scored 17 points in the second half, when Simpson outscored Dubuque by 20. The Storm shot 56 percent from the field and went 8-for-11 form 3-point range in the final 20 minutes.

STORM NOTES
• Simpson tied a season-high with 17 free throws against Dubuque, going 17-for-19 from the line.
• The Storm overcame an eight-point, second-half deficit in the win over Dubuque.
• The Storm welcomed back Conor Riordan, who looked like his old self with 18 points in his second game back from a foot injury. The junior point guard returned to the starting lineup after scoring just four points in his first game back last Wednesday against Loras.
• Tyler Stumbo ended a streak of three straight games without reaching double figures when he scored 12 against the Spartans. He averaged under 4.0 ppg over the previous three games.
• Head coach Brad Bjorkgren became just the fifth coach in school history to reach 50 career wins with the Storm's 94-69 win at Luther on Dec. 3. He is the second-fastest to reach the mark, needing just 85 games. Bjorkgren is 53-37 in four seasons with the Storm.
• The Storm have had a different leading scorer in each of the last six games.
• Junior forward Adam Reiter is enjoying a career season, averaging 11.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game after averaging just 2.8 and 1.8 as a sophomore.

UP NEXT
Simpson travels to Central on Wednesday, Jan. 16. Start time is set for 8 p.m. in Pella.