Storm earn 20-point win over Central

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- In a game Simpson never trailed, the Storm picked up a 91-71 victory over Central to get back in the win column in American Rivers Conference play on Saturday inside Cowles Fieldhouse.

Simpson (8-6, 2-3 A-R-C) grabbed the much-needed victory to get back in the A-R-C race and currently sits in fifth place with five games underway. The Dutch (4-10, 1-4 A-R-C) are one of two teams with just one league win.

Conor Riordan shook off the rust from last game to fill the stat sheet with 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Adam Reiter took over in the paint for 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting and notched his sixth double-double of the year with 12 boards. Collin Lister and Chris Honz both added nine points, while Honz brought in seven rebounds.

The game started at 3-2 in favor of the Storm after a 3-pointer from Lister opened the scoring lid before the offense ignited for a 9-0 spurt. Reiter had five points during the spree, including an and-one play near the basket. Simpson stretched its lead to 14 at 28-14 over the next five minutes due to a 10-0 run.

The Storm aimed to go into halftime with an 18-point lead after two free throws by Honz, but Central notched a layup with 30 seconds left to send it into break at 50-34. Both teams connected on 33.3% of their attempts from deep, but the Storm held a 51.4% overall mark, while the visitors shot 40.0%. Reiter was a force on the glass with seven of the team's 25 in the first 20 minutes of action.

After the Dutch scored four points in the first minute of the second, the offense went cold as the Storm orchestrated a 23-6 surge until the 11:15 mark. A Central basket stopped the run momentarily before Nick Janssen hit a 3 and Ahmed Musa made two free throws to give Simpson its largest lead of the game at 78-45 with 9:49 to go.

As the game moved closer to the final buzzer, the Dutch brought the game to a 14-point deficit at 82-68 with 4:01 to play. Riordan added to the buffer with three free throws and a basket. The defense held firm as Central scored its last basket at 2:26 to play and Kade Tatkenhorst logged his first points of the year on the final bucket of the game for the Storm. The 20-point triumph is the largest against Central since winning by 21 on Jan. 21, 2006.

Up Next
Storm Lake, Iowa will be home to the Simpson-Buena Vista clash on Wednesday as tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.