Turner hits game-winner to complete comeback win over Central

INDIANOLA, Iowa — Austin Turner's runner in the lane with 9 seconds left got a friendly bounce off the back iron and Trashawn Boyd's layup at the horn went off the mark as the Simpson men's basketball team ended a four-game losing streak with a dramatic 64-63 win over Central on Wednesday.

The Storm (10-6, 3-4 Iowa Conference) trailed by as many as 12 in the second half but closed the game on a 13-4 run in the final 4 minutes, getting six from Turner. He finished with nine points while Sam Amsbaugh led the way with 11. Nick Noah added 10 off the bench.

Simpson trailed almost the entire game before Sabonis Smith's 3 from the right wing tied the score at 61-all with 1:11 to play, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. Turner went 1-for-2 at the line to give Simpson a 62-61 lead with 29 seconds left, but Central got it back on a pair of Colby Taylor free throws.

Turner took the inbound pass out of the timeout and went right at the Central defense, using just enough touch to get a roll off the back iron. Boyd saw an opening on a broken play at the other end, but his contested layup was too strong.

The Iowa Conference's leading scorer, Taylor was held 10 points below his average thanks to a great defensive effort from DJ Dafney. He finished with 13 points and nine rebounds to lead the Dutch (9-7, 3-4), who lost their third straight in the series.

Simpson overcame a cold night shooting, hitting just 33.3 percent from the field. The Storm benefitted from an opportunistic defense, though, scoring 29 points off 20 Dutch turnovers. Central scored just two points off seven Storm giveaways.

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Simpson travels to Cedar Rapids to play Coe on Saturday. The Kohawks (8-9, 4-4) lost to Buena Vista 62-61 on a buzzer-beater Wednesday night.