Dubuque claims season series over Simpson

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- A slow offensive output in the first half plagued the Simpson men's basketball team on Saturday as Dubuque grabbed a 93-83 victory against the Storm to claim the season series.

Simpson (9-9, 3-6 A-R-C) connected on just 40.7% of its attempts in the first 20 minutes of action and went 1-for-6 from beyond the arc. The Spartans (12-6, 5-4 A-R-C) shot a little better at 46.7% and tallied four makes from 3.

The Storm grabbed their first lead at the halfway point with the score set at 14-13 when Conor Riordan had a three-point play after getting fouled on a made basket. Dubuque returned with a 7-0 outburst to go back ahead at 20-14. Simpson would climb back to within striking distance at 36-33 after a pair of free throws from Kyle Wagner. The hosts tallied five-straight free throws to go into the break ahead at 41-33.

A strong start in the opening six minutes out of halftime gave the Storm a slim 52-51 advantage after a 9-0 burst. Dubuque killed the momentum after issuing a 9-2 scoring spree to regain the lead and never looked back. The Spartans would stretch it to a 14-point gap for their largest of the afternoon.

The Simpson offense finished with four players that scored in double figures and eight scored at least two points. Conor Riordan had a game-high 25 points for his fourth 20-point contest in his last five outings. Ahmed Musa tallied 16 points for a new career high on 5 of 7 shooting. Kyle Wagner chipped in 11 points and Collin Lister tallied 10 off the bench.

Overall, the offense hit 48.2% of its shots, while Dubuque made 49.2%. The hosts had a 40-25 advantage in bench points and hauled in six more rebounds to hold the edge.

Up Next
Simpson will host Luther on Wednesday in hopes of splitting the season series. The Norse won 83-73 in the previous matchup.