Storm’s fast start not enough at league-leading Central

PELLA, Iowa - The Simpson College men's basketball team got off to a quick start, but could not maintain the advantage after a strong response from Central, falling 73-64, Wednesday, at P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium.

The Storm (11-5, 4-4 A-R-C) raced out to a quick lead, making nine of their first 15 shots to gain a 21-10 lead in the first 10 minutes. Six different Storm players scored in the first 10 minutes, led by Andrew Curran making all three of his attempts from the field.

It was always going to be tough to roll the league-leading Dutch (12-4, 7-1 A-R-C) at home and the Dutch responded by turning up their defensive effort. The Storm made just five of their next 19 shots, scoring just nine points in the final 10 minutes of the first half. The Dutch embarked on a 26-7 to end the half, powered by conference-leading rebounder Grant Johnson. Easton Darling nailed a jumper at the buzzer to end the run, but the Dutch led 36-30 at the halftime break.

The second half started with the team's trading buckets, but the Dutch went on a mini-run to gain its largest lead of the game at 10 points. Darling hit a triple to respond, as Simpson took a timeout, cutting the lead to five from a jumper from Andrew Gibb.
Johnson, who had a game-high 22 points, picked up his fourth foul with just over five minutes to go with the Storm in the bonus. Gibb knocked down a pair of free throws, but a massive three-pointer and layup from Central's Kole Tupa put the Dutch back up by 10 with three minutes to play.

The Storm had one last run in them, with Andrew Curran making a tough layup to cut it back to six, but a Simpson foul late in the shot clock with the Dutch in the bonus was a killer, allowing the Dutch to go back up eight with just 90 seconds to go with two free throws. The Storm had chances down six and seven, but the Dutch always answered with a clutch defensive stand or a bucket on the other end.

While the Storm had their most rebounds since the second game of the season against Fontbonne and held Central to below their season averages shooting the ball from the field and the three-point line, the Storm had to endure their own offensive struggles. The Storm shot their second-lowest percentage from the field this season and the lowest from behind the arc. Curran had a season-high 20 points to lead the Storm, while Darling added 13. Gibb was also in double figures with 12 points and led the team in rebounding with eight. Gibb continued his chase at the conference free-throw crown, making all six of his free throw attempts. Gibb has now made 36 free throws in a row, dating back to the Dec. 3 win over Coe.

Up Next
Simpson will look to snap its own three-game skid with a road game at Coe on Saturday.