MBB Preview: Storm aim to knock off Buena Vista

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson men's basketball team has its hands full on Wednesday as Buena Vista hosts the Storm for a 7:30 p.m. showdown inside Siebens Fieldhouse in Storm Lake, Iowa.

The Storm (8-6, 2-3 A-R-C) earned a 91-71 win over Central on Saturday to stay in the race for an American Rivers Conference title. The Beavers (13-2, 4-2 A-R-C) are second in the league standings after a 93-77 win over Luther last weekend to stretch their winning streak to three.

Fans can access the video stream via the American Rivers application on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV or by visiting SimpsonAthletics.com to find the video link.

GAME 15
Simpson (8-6, 2-3 A-R-C) at Buena Vista (13-2, 4-2 A-R-C)
Wednesday, Jan. 15 | 7:30 p.m.
Siebens Fieldhouse | Buena Vista, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats

BUENA VISTA SERIES NOTES
The Storm and Beavers meet for the 158th time dating back to 1921, with Simpson owning an 81-76 record ... the Storm won both contests last year to snap a five-game losing streak in the series ... in the teams' last meeting on Jan. 23, 2019, Conor Riordan and Kyle Wagner both scored 23 points as the team connected on 18 triples, its most in a single game in program history ... the Storm used a 19-point cushion at halftime to cruise to their first win in Storm Lake since 2012.

RECENT RESULTS
Jan. 23, 2019 — W, 98-89 (Storm Lake)
Dec. 5, 2018 — L, 81-68 (Indianola)
Jan. 20, 2018 — W, 88-82 (Storm Lake)
Nov. 29, 2017 — L, 91-90 (Indianola)
Feb. 1, 2017 — L, 70-60 (Indianola)

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Buena Vista and first-year head coach Trevor Johnson ride a three-game winning streak into tomorrow's matchup, all coming in American Rivers Conference competition ... during the current winning streak, the Beavers are outscoring their opponents 262-219 ... both of Buena Vista's blemishes came in league play in losses to Nebraska Wesleyan (78-65) and Coe (86-80, 2 OT) ... as a unit, the team is first in the league in scoring (89.9) and scoring defense (71.3) ... four players are averaging in double figures for the Beavers: Timothy Jeffries (18.8), Dominic Sesma (13.6), Michael Demers (13.4) and DJ McNeal (13.2).

LAST TIME OUT
Simpson grabbed a much-needed 91-71 victory on Saturday inside Cowles Fieldhouse against Central for its second league win for the season ... the 20-point triumph is the most against the Dtuch since winning by 21 on Jan. 21, 2006 ... Conor Riordan had a game-high 26 points, and added seven rebounds and six assists to wipe off the rust from the previous game at Nebraska Wesleyan ... Adam Reiter notched his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 boards in 26 minutes of work.

STORM NOTES
• Simpson in the national rankings:

10th — free throw percentage (78.4)
13th — field goal percentage (49.6)
14th — scoring offense (89.5)
17th — 3-point percentage (39.9)
33rd — total assists (237)

• Storm in the national rankings:

Conor Riordan — 11th in assist to turnover ratio (3.16)
Adam Reiter — 19th in field goal percentage (62.6)

• In the A-R-C, the Storm are second in scoring (89.5) and in shooting percentage (49.6), but are second to last in points allowed per contest at 83.7.
• Three starters are scoring in double figures as Conor Riordan is leading the way at 18.8 ppg. Reiter is second at 16.9 and Kyle Wagner follows with an average of 14.8.
• From deep, Kyle Wagner is sixth in program history with 140 career makes in 65 games, with only 45 starts. Conor Riordan is seventh with 132 in 81 appearances.
• Chris Honz has provided 15 points off the bench over the last two games after scoring just 14 points in the previous five contests for Simpson. Honz went 6-for-7 from the floor last week and added 13 rebounds.
• Conor Riordan became the 21st player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark. He needed just 11 points to reach it when the season started and used his 22 points in the season opener against Bethany Lutheran to join the club. Riordan is currently 11th in program history with 1,226 career points.

UP NEXT
The road trip continues when Simpson visits Luther on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. in Decorah, Iowa.