MBB Preview: Storm begin second half of league play at Buena Vista

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson Storm men's basketball team begins the second half of American Rivers Conference play Wednesday when it travels to Storm Lake to face the Buena Vista Beavers. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.

The Storm (9-7, 3-5) suffered an 84-78 loss to Coe on Saturday despite 36 points from Conor Riordan, the team's third loss in a row. The Beavers (8-10, 2-7) suffered a 75-74 loss to Loras on Monday, the team's fourth straight setback.

Fans can follow the game on BVUathletics.com or via the American Rivers application on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

GAME 17
Simpson (9-7, 3-5) at Buena Vista (8-10, 2-7)
Wednesday, Jan. 23 | 8 p.m.
Siebens Fieldhouse | Storm Lake, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats

BUENA VISTA SERIES NOTES
Simpson and Buena Vista meet for the 157th time in a series that dates back to the 1921-22 season … Simpson holds a slim 80-76 lead in the series … the Storm snapped a five-game losing streak in the series with an 81-68 win on Dec. 5 … the Storm have lost seven-straight games in Storm Lake, the last win coming on Jan. 4, 2012.

RECENT RESULTS
Dec. 5, 2018 — W, 81-68 (Indianola)
Jan. 20, 2018 — L, 88-82 (Storm Lake)
Nov. 29, 2017 — L, 91-90 (Indianola)
Feb. 1, 2017 — L, 70-60 (Indianola)
Jan. 23, 2017 — L, 100-89 (Storm Lake)

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Buena Vista and second-year head coach Todd Lorensen bring a four-game losing streak into Wednesday's game, losing by an average of five points per game during the stretch … the Beavers are led by junior guard Timothy Jeffries (13.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg) … Jeffries had a team-high 15 points in the narrow loss to Loras … Buena Vista is sixth in the league in scoring (78.3 ppg) and fifth in points allowed (78.3 ppg).

LAST TIME OUT
Conor Riordan scored a game-high 36 points and Adam Reiter added 23 but Coe outlasted Simpson 84-78 on Saturday. Riordan went 15-for-23 from the field and 6-for-10 from 3-point range, but Austin Roth made the go-ahead layup with 14:24 left and the Kohawks led the rest of the way.

STORM NOTES

• Conor Riordan had his second, 30-point game of the season and fourth of his career when he put up 36 against Coe. He scored 35 in the season-opener against Bethany Lutheran and set a career-high with 39 against Central last season.
• Simpson has been taking care of business at the free throw line as of late, shooting better than 83 percent over the last five games. During that span the Storm tied a school record by going 11-for-11 against Nebraska Wesleyan on Jan. 9.
• The Storm are third in the conference in scoring (84.4 ppg) and sith in points allowed (78.7).
• Junior forward Kyle Wagner has over 20 points in three of the last four games, reaching double figures 10 times this season. That's one more than he had last season.
• Wagner ranks fifth in the country in 3-point percentage (50.6).
• Junior forward Adam Reiter is enjoying a career season, averaging 13.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game after averaging just 2.8 and 1.8 as a sophomore.
• Head coach Brad Bjorkgren became just the fifth coach in school history to reach 50 career wins with the Storm's 94-69 win at Luther on Dec. 3. He is the second-fastest to reach the mark, needing just 85 games. Bjorkgren is 53-40 in four seasons with the Storm.

UP NEXT
Simpson hosts Dubuque on Saturday, Jan. 26. Start time is set for 4 p.m. at Cowles Fieldhouse.