MBB Preview: Storm aim for fourth win in a row at home

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson men's basketball team returns to Cowles Fieldhouse for an American Rivers Conference matchup against Coe on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Storm (10-11, 4-8 A-R-C) lost to rival Central, 78-71, after a late fourth quarter rally fell short on Saturday. The Kohawks (12-9, 7-5 A-R-C) missed a game-winning shot as time expired to lose 77-76 to Loras.

The game will be video streamed live on SimpsonAthletics.com as Bryan Geelan has the call. Fans can also access the video stream via the American Rivers application on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

GAME 22
Coe (12-9, 7-5 A-R-C) at Simpson (10-11, 4-8 A-R-C)
Wednesday, Feb. 12 | 7:30 p.m.
Cowles Fieldhouse | Indianola, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats

COE SERIES NOTES
Since 1911, the two teams have faced each other 93 times and meet for the 94th time on Wednesday ... the Kohawks have a slight 49-44 tilt in the series, but the Storm have won the last six of seven meetings between the two teams ... the season series was split last year as both squads tallied road victories, but Simpson got its revenge in the first round of the American Rivers Conference Tournament with a 90-82 triumph at home ... last year's playoff showdown between the two teams was the highest scoring game in the series since Coe won 108-103 in 1998-99.

RECENT RESULTS
Dec. 4, 2019 — W, 71-58 (Cedar Rapids)
Feb. 19, 2019 — W, 90-82 (Indianola)
Feb. 16, 2019 — W, 72-70 (Cedar Rapids)
Jan. 19, 2019 — L, 84-78 (Indianola)
Feb. 17, 2018 — W, 75-72 (Indianola)

ABOUT THE KOHAWKS
Coe and eighth-year head coach Bryan Martin are looking to get back into the win column after dropping two straight conference games ... the Kohawks currently sit in fourth place in the American Rivers Conference standings ... the offense ranks seventh in scoring with 80.4 ppg, while the defense is third in the league allowing only 76.2 points per contest ... four players are averaging double figures to help lead the team, Austin Roth (15.5), Jacob Robertson (12.7), Adam McDermott (12.6) and Josh Schmitt (10.0).

LAST TIME OUT
Simpson fell to Central, 78-71, to snap a two-game winning streak over the Dutch ... the two rivals traded blows in the first half including five lead changes and eight ties, but Central's last second layup gave them a one-point tilt into intermission ... Simpson made a basket to bring the deficit to two at 73-71 with 30 seconds to go, but Central held on to win by sinking its free throws down the stretch ... the offense had four players score in double figures as Conor Riordan led with 21 points.

STORM NOTES
• Simpson in the national rankings:

16th — free throw percentage (76.9%)
23rd — field goal percentage (48.8%)

• Storm in the national rankings:

Conor Riordan — ninth in assist to turnover ratio (3.0), 16th in free throw percentage (89.0%)
Adam Reiter — 14th in field goal percentage (63.3%)

• In the A-R-C, the Storm are second in shooting percentage (48.8%), third in scoring (84.9), but are second to last in points allowed per contest at 81.9.
• Three starters are scoring in double figures as Conor Riordan is leading the way at 19.6 ppg. Reiter is second at 15.8, and Kyle Wagner follows with an average of 14.0.
• Conor Riordan has scored at least 20 points in the last six of eight contests this season to average 24.3 points per game since Jan. 11.
• 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 10th in program history with 1,400 and needs 26 points to move into ninth.

UP NEXT
The Storm look to sweep the season series at Wartburg this Saturday in a 4 p.m. contest.