Darling’s sizzling night sends Storm to road win

STORM LAKE, Iowa - Easton Darling poured in 22 points in the first half, as the Simpson men's basketball team used a dominant first half to overpower Buena Vista, 88-76, for its fifth straight win.
Darling, who led all scorers with 29 points, got going early, leading the Storm (10-2, 3-1 A-R-C) on a 24-8 run to break open an early 6-6 tie. Darling's triple to make it 30-14 gave him 14 points in the game's opening 11 minutes.

The Beavers (7-6, 1-4 A-R-C) were shell shocked and could not find their footing. They momentarily cut it to 11 after a layup from perennial scorer Zane Neubaum, who finished with 26, but Simpson ended the half on another 18-8 run over just eight minutes. Darling hit another two threes over the run, including one just before the buzzer. Andrew Curran also joined in on the fun with a triple of his own, giving the Storm a massive 21-point lead at halftime, 53-32.

The second half was not a blowout like the first, but the Storm knew the Beavers would throw their best effort to have any comeback attempts. The Storm went up by 24 with 13 minutes to play after a layup from Buck Eagleburger, but the Beavers started a rally after that.

The Beavers used a 15-3 run to cast a shadow of a doubt back in the Storm's mind, making the score 72-60 with seven and a half minutes left. However, after a bucket from Curran out of a timeout, Darling nailed his sixth three-pointer with five minutes left, taking the air out of any comeback thoughts from Buena Vista. Eagleburger made back-to-back layups as well to give the Storm a deserved victory.

The Simpson shooting splits were highly efficient, shooting 57.1 percent from the field, 60 percent from beyond the arc, and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line. The first two were season-highs, while the free-throw percentage was tied for the second-highest. The Storm shot at least 60 percent from the three-point line for the first time since Feb. 25, 2020, also at Buena Vista.

Darling's six threes made it the second time this season he has hit at least five in a game. Curran added 16 points while Eagleburger was the other Storm player in double figures with 10. Chris Honz had a brilliant all-around game, scoring six points, grabbing nine rebounds, and dishing out six assists.

Up Next
The Storm return home to continue conference play by hosting Luther, Saturday, at 4 p.m.