MBB Preview: Storm look to rebound at Wartburg

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The last meeting between Simpson and Wartburg proved to be a thriller and this time looks no different as both teams are eyeing a spot in the American Rivers Conference Tournament. The A-R-C foes will tip off at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Waverly, Iowa.

The Storm (10-12, 4-9 A-R-C) dropped an 80-60 contest to Coe on Wednesday inside Cowles Fieldhouse. The Knights (9-13, 5-8 A-R-C) had the same fate and lost 91-67 to Buena Vista.

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 23
Simpson (10-12, 4-9 A-R-C) at Wartburg (9-13, 5-8 A-R-C)
Saturday, Feb. 15 | 4 p.m.
Levick Arena | Waverly, Iowa
Live Video | Live Stats

WARTBURG SERIES NOTES
The Storm and Knights meet for the 142nd time in a series that began during the 1945-46 campaign ... Simpson has won the last two matchups after losing the previous three ... in the first contest between the two teams on Jan. 22, Wartburg held a 43-31 lead into halftime, but the Storm charged back in the second after scoring 12-straight points to take the lead ... Simpson held on to win by going on a 9-0 spurt to close out the contest ... over the last four games between the teams, neither squad has won by more than nine points.

RECENT RESULTS
Jan. 22, 2020 — W, 71-65 (Indianola)
Jan. 31, 2019 — W, 84-81 (Indianola)
Nov. 28, 2018 — L, 92-81 (Waverly)
Feb. 20, 2018 — L, 76-72 (Indianola)
Feb. 3, 2018 — L, 85-77 (Waverly)

ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
Wartburg and 23rd-year head coach Dick Peth have won their last two of three games to sit ahead of the Storm by one spot in the league standings at sixth ... the Knights come into the contest after losing 91-67 to Buena Vista on Wednesday as the Beavers sit third in the conference ... the offense is eighth in scoring at 75.3 ppg and the defense is allowing 77.8 ppg for fifth ... Max Smith Drahos paces the team in scoring at 11.4 and Jack Molstead follows closely with his 10.8 output.

A-R-C STANDINGS
With three conference games remaining, four teams have clinched a spot in the American Rivers Conference Tournament ... Nebraska Wesleyan won the regular season crown for the fourth-straight season and is ranked No. 6 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Polls ... Loras, Buena Vista and Coe all have a seat in the league tournament to join the Prairie Wolves ... Dubuque, Wartburg, Simpson and Luther round out the five through eight spots, with all still having a chance to make postseason play, but with only two spots left to fill ... Central rounds out the league in ninth.

STORM NOTES
• Simpson in the national rankings:

24th — free throw percentage (76.3%)

• Storm in the national rankings:

Conor Riordan — ninth in assist to turnover ratio (3.03), 12th in free throw percentage (89.4%)
Adam Reiter — 17th in field goal percentage (62.4%)

• In the A-R-C, the Storm are third in scoring (83.7) and fourth in shooting percentage (48.0%), but are second to last in points allowed per contest at 81.8.
• Three starters are scoring in double figures as Conor Riordan is leading the way at 19.3 ppg. Reiter is second at 15.6, and Kyle Wagner follows with an average of 13.8.
• Adam Reiter has been a double-double machine this season and currently has 10 games capturing the feat. Reiter paces the league and had a streak of four-straight contests with a double-double during the year.
• 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 1,414 and needs 12 points to move into ninth.

UP NEXT
No. 6 Nebraska Wesleyan visits for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Wednesday for the Storm's penultimate regular season home game of the year.