Offensive explosion powers Storm past Knox

INDIANOLA, Iowa - For the second time this season, the Simpson men's basketball team eclipsed the 100-point mark, defeating Knox, 101-71, Saturday, at Cowles Fieldhouse.

The Storm (5-1, 0-1 A-R-C) shot over 50% from the field, including 64% in the second half, while making 30-of-41 free throws. The Prairie Fire (1-5) fell victim to an opportunistic Storm defense, committing 30 turnovers despite shooting a respectable 45%,

The Storm got off to a slow start, taking nearly three minutes to score their first bucket off a jumper from Buck Eagleburger. Knox kept the game within single digits most of the half, even cutting the Storm lead down to five at 27-22 with seven minutes to go, but the Storm took control of the game with a massive 17-0 run over the next five minutes and change. 10 of those points came from Easton Darling, who had 20 in the first half and led all scorers in the whole game with 24. Despite the Storm going up by 22 after the run, Knox showed resilience at the end of the half, with a late three-pointer eating into the Storm lead to make it a 46-31 score.

The Storm did not let the Prairie Fire get within 13 points the rest of the game, with an extremely efficient second half spurring the team on. The Storm scored 55 points on just 28 second half attempts. The Prairie Fire also were prone to fouling, leading to 41 Storm free throw attempts. Andrew Gibb has already made himself a reputation as being one of the conference's best shooters from the charity stripe, making 10 of his 12 attempts, finishing as the game's second leading scorer with 20 points.

Up 79-61 over midway into the second half, the Storm went on another 9-0 run to open an 88-61 lead, which led to the benches to begin emptying as the game was over as a contest. Despite that, the Storm managed to get over the 100-point mark off a pair of free throws from Levi Gurwell, who poured in seven points in nine minutes.

The final score marked the second time the Storm have scored over 100 points this season and the largest margin of victory this season. The Storm did a good job defending the two main scoring sources for the Prairie Fire in Sean Gallery and Jordan Rainer, limiting them to 27 points combined when they came in averaging 35 a game.

Darling and Gibb led the Storm in scoring, while Chris Honz and Caden McGuire joined them in double figures as well. Honz led the Storm in rebounding with six while Andrew Curran was a major factor in the Storm defense, recording a team-leading five steals. The Storm's 41 free throw attempts were the most since Jan. 25, 2017 at Bethany Lutheran, while the team's 19 steals were the most since Nov. 14, 2019 against Faith Baptist Bible.

Up Next
After a six-game homestand to start the year, the Storm will finally head on the road to take on Bethany Lutheran next Wednesday at 6 p.m.