Storm stumble on the road at Buena Vista

STORM LAKE, Iowa -- Sophomore Collin Lister scored a career-high 30 points on Thursday as Simpson College men's basketball fell 88-72 at Buena Vista.

The Storm (0-3, 0-1 A-R-C) appeared in their first American Rivers Conference game this season and it was also the third time playing the Beavers (2-0, 2-0 A-R-C) in the team's last six games dating back to the 2019-20 campaign.

Sophomore Andrew Curran made the first 3-pointer of the game for an early 4-1 lead right before both teams traded dunks to allow Simpson to hold a 6-3 tilt. Over the next nine minutes of play, Lister tallied 12 points to help the Storm stay within striking distance at 23-22 in favor of the hosts.

Buena Vista extended the lead to 31-22 as 2:30 ticked off the clock after draining back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-0 spurt. Junior Chris Honz connected on a jumper to ignite a 10-2 run of their own to bring the game back to within one at 33-32 with under four minutes to play in the half. The offense went 4-for-4 from the floor with two triples to trim the deficit amid the run.

The Beavers made two 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the period to push the lead to 39-35 at the break. Both teams combined to make 11 triples in the half, six of which were from Buena Vista.

At the start of the second stanza, Honz and Lister made back-to-back shots to knot the game at 39-39, but the lead quickly diminished after a 7-0 run by the Beavers. Buena Vista widened the advantage to 10 points at the 13:12 mark at 56-46.

The Beavers heated up from behind the arc over the next eight minutes with five 3-pointers to push the game to a 22-point margin at 81-59 for the largest gap of the game.

The Storm ended with a 40.6% shooting clip with 10 made triples, while Buena Vista connected on 14 long-range jumpers. Simpson held a 13-9 offensive rebounding edge.

Lister went 11-for-16 overall and knocked down six 3-pointers for the most of his young career to score over 20 points for the first time. Honz added 16 points and senior Alec Hinson provided nine points off the bench.

The Beavers made 52.4% of their shots and had four players score in double figures with freshman Zane Neubaum leading the way with 23 points.

Up Next
Simpson has a day off before returning to A-R-C play on Saturday at Coe (0-1, 0-1 A-R-C). Action will begin at 4 p.m. in Cedar Rapids.