Posted: Feb 15, 2019

MBB Preview: Storm prepare for tough matchup at Coe

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson Storm men's basketball team will conclude its regular season on Saturday as the team travels to Coe for a 4 p.m. affair.

The Storm (14-9, 8-7) won 93-87 against Central on Wednesday to clinch a spot in the American Rivers Conference Tournament next week. The Kohawks (14-10, 8-7) lost 78-45 to top-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan on Wednesday.

The game will be video streamed live on CoeAthletics.com. Andrew Swadner and Rick Wilson will have the call for the audio stream on KNIAKRLS.com. Fans can also access the video stream via the American Rivers application on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

GAME 24
Simpson (14-9, 8-7) at Coe (14-10, 8-7)
Saturday, Feb. 14 | 4 p.m.
Kohawk Arena | Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats

TOURNAMENT TALK
The Storm currently sit tied for fourth with Coe in the American Rivers Conference standings. The winner of the game on Saturday will host the other team in the opening round of the A-R-C Tournament on Tuesday.

COE SERIES NOTES
Simpson and Coe meet for the 91st time in a series that dates back to the 1911-12 season … the Kohawks own a 49-41 in the series and won the previous matchup on Jan. 19 in Indianola … before the loss, the Storm won three straight in the series.

RECENT RESULTS
Jan. 19, 2019 — L, 84-78 (Indianola)
Feb. 17, 2018 — W, 75-72 (Indianola)
Jan. 10, 2018 — W, 79-69 (Cedar Rapids)
Jan. 21, 2017 — W, 67-62 (Cedar Rapids)

ABOUT THE KOHAWKS
Coe and seventh-year head coach Bryan Martin have dropped their last two outings in league play after winning four in a row … the squad is second in the conference in scoring defense at 72.9 ppg, but are last in scoring offense (75.8 ppg) … Nolan Timp is fifth in the league in rebounding and sixth in scoring while pacing the conference with a 63.9 field goal percentage.

LAST TIME OUT
Adam Reiter scored a career-high 27 points and Tyler Stumbo had 20 coming off the bench to help Simpson win over Central on Wednesday. With the win, the Storm secured a spot in the A-R-C Tournament next week as either the fourth or fifth seed.

STORM NOTES

The Storm made seven 3s in the win over Central, giving the team 233 3s on the season to break the previous school record of 232. The old mark was set in 2015-16, head coach Brad Bjorkgren's first season at the helm.
Simpson is a perfect 8-0 this season when shooting 50 percent from the field.
Simpson exploded for a school-record 18 3-pointers in a 98-89 win at Buena Vista on Wednesday, Jan. 23, breaking the mark of 17 set against Dubuque on Feb 22, 2003. The Storm went 18-for-32 in the game, good for 56.3 percent, second-best in school history.
Adam Reiter narrowly missed his fifth double-double of the season when he finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's loss to Nebraska Wesleyan. He ranks second in the A-R-C with 7.1 rebounds per game and his 50 offensive rebounds are tops in the league.
Junior forward Kyle Wagner has established himself as one of the top 3-point shooters in the country. Hitting 48.8 percent from beyond the arc, Wagner leads the A-R-C and ranks fourth in the nation. After starting the season averaging 10.7 ppg, he is averaging 17.0 points in the last 10 games.
Wagner snapped his streak of 24 straight games with a made 3-pointer on Wednesday against Central. His 62 3s this season rank fourth in the A-R-C and are the fourth-most in a season in school history.
Conor Riordan went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc in the Feb. 4 win over Luther, giving him 101 3s for his career, the eighth player in school history to reach the century mark. He now has 938 career points as he closes in on 1,000 for his career.
The Storm are third in the conference in scoring (84.3 ppg) and sixth in points allowed (80.9).
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 55-40 in four seasons with the Storm.

UP NEXT
Depending on the outcome of Saturday's game, Simpson will either host or play at Coe on Tuesday.