Storm lead early but fall to No. 11 Whitworth

SPOKANE, Wash. – Mark Larkin scored 17 points and No. 11 Whitworth came back to beat the Simpson men's basketball team 77-69 on Saturday.

Larkin shot 7 of 8 from the field and helped the Pirates (9-1) shoot 70 percent in the second half en-route to their ninth straight win.

Charles Swain scored 14 points and handed out four assists and Austin Hennings scored 13 and grabbed six rebounds for the Storm (4-7), who led by as many as 10 in the first half thanks to 64 percent shooting and a 5-for-8 effort from beyond the arch.

Simpson went on a 10-2 run midway through the first half to take the early 10-point lead. Hennings and Swain hit 3s to fuel the run as Swain finished the day a perfect 4-for-4 from long range.

After an AJ Arrington layup made the score 33-23 with just under 8 minutes left in the first half, Whitworth mounted a 15-5 run to tie it 38-38 in the final minute. Arrington found the bottom of the net with 19 seconds left to give Simpson a 40-38 lead at the break.

Whitworth seized control of the game early in the second half thanks to a 16-2 run. The Pirates defense held the Storm to two points over a stretch of 8 minutes, 9 seconds in building a 56-46 lead at the 10:24 mark.

The Storm take the floor for the first time in the new year on Jan. 5 when they travel to Storm Lake, Iowa to face Buena Vista. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.