Simpson completes weekend sweep with victory over Northland

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Andrew Curran poured in 28 points, Chris Honz logged his first double-double of the season, and the Simpson College men's basketball team remained undefeated inside Cowles Fieldhouse with a 75-74 victory over Northland on Sunday afternoon.

Curran registered a season-high 28 points thanks to 9-of-22 shooting from the floor and had four assists, three rebounds and a steal. Honz tallied 11 points and 11 rebounds while also contributing four assists, and Skyler Handlos hit double figure scoring for the first time in his career with 10 points. Trent Williamson chipped in nine points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Simpson (3-3) had to dig out of an early hole as Northland (0-8) scored the first 11 points of the game and later led 19-8 thanks to 5-of-5 shooting from behind the arc. The Storm began chipping away at the deficit and used a 16-4 run capped off by a triple from Caden Rehmeier to claim a four-point lead at 31-27. The Lumberjacks responded with a 7-2 run to lead 34-33, but two free throws by Curran gave the lead back to Simpson ahead of halftime.

After Simpson opened the second half with a layup, Northland scored eight unanswered to take a 45-37 advantage. Five points from Curran and back-to-back trifectas from Handlos and Williamson helped Simpson regain the lead at 48-47. In the final 11 minutes of the game, there were 14 lead changes and neither team led by more than four. A layup from Handlos and a 3-pointer by Buck Eagleburger put Simpson ahead 68-67 with 2:41 left, but Northland got right back on top with a jumper on the other end of the court.

Handlos' fourth basket of the night helped the Storm stay within one after the Lumberjacks made two foul shots, and Simpson took the lead for good when Curran sank a deep three from the right wing with 36 seconds left. Northland's lead-scorer Jordan Brennan would later sink a triple as time expired, but two clutch free throws from Curran on the previous possession gave Simpson enough buffer to escape with the home victory.

Up Next
Simpson gets back to conference action on Dec. 4 when the Storm travel to Coe for a 4 p.m. showdown.