Comeback falls short for Simpson men

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Simpson College men's basketball cut an 18-point deficit down to three in the second half, but were unable to overcome the hurdle to fall 83-77 to Wartburg on Wednesday in the regular season finale.

To start the game, both teams remained within four points of one another through the first 10 minutes of action until the Knights (4-6, 2-4 A-R-C) went on an 8-2 run to grab a 10-point lead.

The Storm (3-6, 3-4 A-R-C) cut the deficit to six at 38-32 with two minutes left in the period, but Wartburg tallied the half's final four points to widen the gap to double digits at 42-32. Both teams shot identical in the first half at 48.4%.

The Knights came out of the break on a 14-6 run to grab an 18-point lead for the largest of the game at 56-38.

Simpson started to chop away at the tilt with the help of Bryce Yoder. Yoder connected on three-straight triples to place the game at 70-61. Andrew Curran followed with a trey, before Wartburg tallied four-straight points. The Storm brought the game to 76-72 with 2:19 left after an 8-0 spurt thanks to four points from Chris Honz.

Curran tried to take over down the stretch for the second-straight game by scoring five-straight points for Simpson's offense to trim the deficit to three with 34 seconds left. The Storm were unable to get a shot to fall and the Knights took advantage at the free throw line to close out the contest.

Overall, Simpson shot 45.6% and knocked down eight 3-pointers as Wartburg held a 40-33 rebounding edge. Curran had a game-high 24 points and Honz collected his fourth double-double of the year with 10 points and 11 boards. Collin Lister added 18 points and Yoder tallied four triples for 12 points off the bench.

Up Next
The Storm open the American Rivers Conference Tournament next Tuesday and bracket information will be announced when configured.