Simpson opens scoring lid to defeat Central

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Simpson College men's basketball broke out of a scoring slump in a big way on Wednesday to capture an 80-61 victory over Central inside Cowles Fieldhouse.

The Storm (1-4, 1-2 A-R-C) had 12 players score to help reach the 80-point plateau for the first time in five games, dating back to last season. The last two triumphs over the Dutch (0-1, 0-1) have been by at least 19 points.

The visitors owned a small 4-0 lead through the first 90 seconds of play, but Simpson charged back with a 7-0 run to never fall behind again. Both teams hit a cold stretch for nearly three minutes of game time at the halfway point of the first with the Storm scoring just four points while holding Central scoreless to garner a 13-6 tilt.

Sophomore Trent Williamson jump started a 12-0 run with a 3-pointer with 8:54 left in the first. Sophomore Ben Wolgemuth followed with a layup just before the defense forced a quick turnover. Sophomore Rio Bingley connected on a layup of his own after getting fouled and made the free throw for the three-point play.

Simpson held a 20-point lead at the break with the score set at 38-18. The offense was shooting 36.6% with 10 players recording a point. The defense held the Dutch to just seven made field goals on 25.9% shooting.

In the second half, the Storm kept the margin in double figures and even pushed the lead to 31 points for the most during the American Rivers Conference bout.

Central made a 7-0 run under the 10-minute mark in the second to force head coach Brad Bjorkgren to call a timeout. The team collected themselves after the short break as senior Kade Tatkenhorst buried back-to-back triples to reverse the momentum and kept the game out of reach.

The Storm finished with 12 made 3-pointers and 17 assists. Sophomore Collin Lister and junior Deontei Johnson paced the team in scoring with 13 points each, and junior Bryce Yoder produced eight off the bench.

Up Next
Simpson travels to Dubuque (7-0, 3-0) on Saturday to take on the top team in the A-R-C standings. The game is slated to begin at 2 p.m.