Early deficit too much to overcome for Storm men against Luther

INDIANOLA - John Cord and Elijah Knox registered career-highs in points but an early scoring drought allowed Luther to take a 77-65 win over Simpson on Saturday at Cowles Fieldhouse.

The Storm (8-10, 5-4 IIAC) suffered a scoring drought of nearly eight minutes in the first half, helping Iowa Conference frontrunner Luther build a 23-4 lead in the first 12 minutes.

Knox led the Storm with 19 points and three steals. Cord scored 17 on 8 of 11 shooting from the field.

Nnamdi Okolue scored 15 points, pacing five players in double figures for the Norse (11-6, 8-1 IIAC). Leading scorer Dane Larson had 14 points and Jacy Dillahunty added 12.

An Elijah Knox jumper made the score 9-4 with just under 15 minutes to go in the first half. Simpson didn't score again until the 7:14 mark, watching Luther score 14 unanswered.

The Norse held a 12-point advantage at the half and led by as much as 22 in the second. But after Zak Fullerton's layup made the score 54-32 with 13:26 left, the Storm mounted a run of their own.

A three-point play by David Fouch sparked a 14-1 run, which made the score 55-46 with 9:17 to go. Luther responded, however, building the lead back to 17.

The Norse shot 58.3 percent from beyond the arch and made 24 of 31 free throws. Simpson went only 1-for-11 from distance.

The Storm will try to get back into the win column Wednesday when they travel to Dubuque for a meeting with Loras (6-12, 3-6 IIAC). The Duhawks won the first meeting this season, 77-69 on Dec. 8 in Indianola. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.