Redlands stage comeback to hand Storm 87-75 loss

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The Simpson men's basketball team suffered an 87-75 defeat to Redlands after owning a double-digit margin in the first half on Wednesday to close out the Storm's trip to San Diego, Calif.

The Storm (7-5) charged out to a quick 13-2 tilt through the first four minutes of play as Kyle Wagner scored 10 of those points. The Storm pushed the advantage to 17 just under the 11-minute mark of the first half with the score at 28-11.

The Bulldogs (7-2) staged a 19-4 run over the next five minutes of game action to bring the showdown to within two at 32-30, but Simpson fought off the comeback to put the contest at 40-35. Redlands drained a 3-pointer at the end of the half to cut the deficit to two at 40-38.

At the start of the second stanza, Collin Lister and Wagner connected on back-to-back triples to extend the lead to six, but the Bulldogs rallied back on nine straight points to take the advantage at 49-46. Simpson went ahead once again right before Redlands went on a 7-0 spurt to keep the game at a six-point margin.

Redlands used a 13-2 run to close out the nonconference clash after Simpson was down by one at 74-73 with 4:46 remaining. The Bulldogs used a mix of seven made free throws and two baskets to seal the victory.

Just like last night's game, Conor Riordan, Adam Reiter and Wagner all scored in double figures to pace the offense. Reiter was the top scorer with 21, Riordan tallied 20 and Wagner added 16. Reiter missed out on his second straight double-double with eight rebounds.

As a unit, Simpson shot 41% overall and 27.3% from long range. The Bulldogs owned a 49-34 rebounding edge and scored 44 points off the bench, whole the Storm produced 11 points outside of their five starters.

Up Next
Simpson travels to Northwest Missouri State for a 1:30 p.m. exhibition contest on Wednesday, Jan. 1. The Storm return to American Rivers Conference play with a 7:30 p.m. game at Nebraska Wesleyan on Wednesday, Jan. 8.