Simpson holds off Luther to win A-R-C battle

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- In a game that saw five lead changes and three ties, the Simpson College men's basketball team prevailed in a 68-61 contest over Luther on Monday.

The Storm (2-5, 2-3 A-R-C) collected their second straight win inside Cowles Fieldhouse with the help of a 44-32 rebound tilt and a 28-12 points in the paint advantage. This is the second time this season Simpson has collected over 40 rebounds in a game.

After a slow start to the game for both teams, Luther (0-2, 0-2 A-R-C) held a slim 23-19 tilt with 3:16 left in the first half. The Storm offense came alive to issue a 12-0 run to end the half with a 31-23 lead after sophomore Andrew Curran made four free throws and senior Kade Tatkenhorst drained back-to-back 3-pointers.

In the second half, junior Chris Honz and Curran teamed up for a 5-0 spurt to extend Simpson's lead to 17 points for the game's largest margin. With the Storm holding a 16-point tilt at the 10:32 mark, Luther began to chip away at the deficit over the next five minutes of game play. The Norse drained five 3-pointers during a 16-3 run to bring the game to 60-57 in favor of Simpson.

Both offenses went quiet after Luther made a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to 62-59 with 4:07 left. Tatkenhorst opened the scoring lid with 33 seconds left after making two free throws to widen the gap to 64-59. The Norse scored on their next possession before Tatkenhorst connected on two more free throws ahead of forcing a turnover seven seconds later that led to junior Deontei Johnson securing the victory with a dunk.

The offense had three starters score in doubles figures with Honz just missing his third double-double of the year with 18 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Collin Lister added 13 points and Tatkenhorst tallied 10 points.

Up Next
Simpson remains home for a midweek clash against Wartburg (2-5, 0-3 A-R-C) on Wednesday. The contest will begin at 5:30 p.m.