MBB Preview: Simpson heads to Buena Vista for Thursday contest

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- After meeting three times last season, Simpson College men's basketball will take on Buena Vista this Thursday for their first showdown of the year. Action will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Storm Lake.

The Storm (0-2, 0-0 A-R-C) dropped an 84-65 contest against Dubuque last Saturday, while the Beavers (1-0, 1-0 A-R-C) won 82-78 against Wartburg.

This game will be the first American Rivers Conference contest for Simpson and the second for Buena Vista.

GAME 2
Simpson (0-2, 0-0 A-R-C) at Buena Vista (1-0, 1-0 A-R-C)
Thursday, Jan. 28 | 6:30 p.m.
Siebens Fieldhouse | Storm Lake, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats

BUENA VISTA SERIES NOTES
In a series that dates back 100 years, the Beavers and Storm meet for the 161st time since the 1921-22 campaign ... both teams have been tough against one another, but Simpson holds the upper hand with an 83-77 mark in the series ... last season, the two squads met three times on the hardwood, with the last two going in favor of the Storm ... on Feb. 22, 2020, Simpson needed a win to reach the A-R-C Tournament for the fifth-straight season under head coach Brad Bjorkgren and did so with an 85-72 victory ... both teams met in the opening round of the conference tournament in Storm Lake, which the Storm won, 86-70, to advance to the semifinals.

RECENT RESULTS
Feb. 25, 2020 — W, 86-70 (Storm Lake)
Feb. 22, 2020 — W, 85-72 (Indianola)
Jan. 11, 2020 — L, 97-85 (Storm Lake)
Jan. 23, 2019 — W, 98-89 (Storm Lake)
Dec. 5, 2018 — L, 81-68 (Indianola)

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Picked to finish fifth in the A-R-C Preseason Coaches' Poll, Buena Vista is 1-0 after winning 82-78 against Wartburg on Saturday in the season opener ... senior Michael Demers tallied 21 points and six rebounds to receive A-R-C Athlete of the Week honors for his performance ... the Beavers had three other players score in double figures: senior Jake Thompson (16), senior Brendan Gary (14) and freshman Zane Neubaum (10) ... as a unit, the offense connected on 47.5% of their shots.

LAST TIME OUT
Simpson stumbled at home on Saturday against unbeaten Dubuque ... the Spartans won 84-65 to move to 4-0 ... sophomore Andrew Curran tallied a career-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field … junior Chris Honz produced 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks to fill the stat sheet.

UP NEXT
The Storm return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at home against Central. The game will begin at 5:30 p.m. inside Cowles Fieldhouse.