Blue Jays sneak away with two-point win over Storm

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Three players reached double figure scoring and the team shot nearly 61% from the floor, but the Simpson College men's basketball squad came up short in a 76-74 game against Westminster to close out the SLIAC/A-R-C Classic on Saturday.

Simpson (0-2) took a 32-29 lead into the locker room after holding the advantage for almost the entire first half. A 6-0 spurt by the Blue Jays (2-2) tied the game at 25-all, but layups by Trent Williamson and Deontei Johnson as well as a trio of free throws from Jack Hutchinson gave the Storm a three-point edge after 20 minutes.

The Storm pushed their advantage to five on three occasions in the second half but neither team was able to pull away more than two baskets. With 1:19 on the clock, Lincoln Swanson knotted the game at 73-73 with a free throw, but the Blue Jays converted a layup to go ahead by two with 15 seconds left and held on for the win.

Chris Honz connected on 10-of-12 shots for 20 points to go with four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block to lead the Storm. Johnson and Andrew Curran also hit double figure scoring with 14 and 12 points, respectively, and combined for seven rebounds, seven assists, a block and a steal.

Swanson added nine points and freshman Caden Rehmeier shined in his debut, making all three of his shots with two triples in just six minutes of action. Freshman Skyler Handlos led the team with six boards.

The Storm shot 60.9 percent from the floor, the highest shooting clip since converting 62.2 percent of their shots against Buena Vista on Feb. 25, 2020. 

Up Next
Simpson plays in front of its home crowd inside Cowles Fieldhouse for the first time this season on Tuesday. The Storm will host Faith Baptist Bible for a 7 p.m. game.