Turner directs Storm to road win at Luther

DECORAH, Iowa — Austin Turner pieced together his best all-around game of the season and the Simpson men's basketball team beat Luther 69-59 on Wednesday night.

DJ Dafney's layup with 15:14 to play gave Simpson a 38-37 lead, part of a 10-0 run that helped the Storm (6-2, 2-0 Iowa Conference) put away Luther and open conference play with two straight wins for the first time in 11 years.

Turner finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals for Simpson, which won its second game in a row. The nation's 10th-leading scorer, Sam Amsbaugh scored 17 points and handed out four assists while Sabonis Smith added 14 points on 3-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc.

For the fifth time this season, Simpson made exactly 10 3-pointers. The Storm are 5-0 in those games. 

Jared Nicolaisen scored 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting for the Norse (1-7, 0-3), who have held second-half leads in all three conference losses. Lucas Markell added 10 points and six rebounds.

Luther fought back after Simpson built a 44-37 lead midway through the second half, but the Storm answered each challenge. A jumper by Nicolaisen pulled the Norse within 44-41, but Ben Rajewski answered with a 3 the next possession. 

Minutes later, Markell hit a jumper to pull within 49-43, but this time Sabonis Smith answered with a 3. Two free throws from Amsbaugh extended the lead to nine with under 7 minutes left and Luther didn't threaten again.

UP NEXT
The Storm travel to Overland Park, Kan. to take on Kansas Christian in a non-conference contest Saturday, Dec. 10. Start time is set for 3 p.m.