Storm roll over Buena Vista for critical conference victory

INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson College men's basketball team seized an early lead that it never relinquished, defeating Buena Vista by a score of 87-62 in American Rivers Conference play.

The Storm (12-9, 5-8 A-R-C) currently hold the last spot to qualify for the A-R-C Tournament, after Coe's loss this evening. The Beavers (8-14, 2-12 A-R-C) remain in last place in the conference despite winning their last game before the trip to Indianola.

The Beavers scored the first bucket of the game, but that would be their only lead, as the Storm raced out to an early 18-4 lead, led by Andrew Gibb and Andrew Curran. Curran nailed two triples in the opening minutes, while Gibb hit one of his own, also adding an old-fashioned three-point play. Gibb, who made all five free throws, leads the conference in free throw percentage and has now made 58 consecutive free throws.

The Storm went up by as many as 21, but the Beavers fought back to cut the lead to 14, but Gibb and Caden Rehmeier added another three-pointer each to answer. Curran's layup right before the buzzer gave the Storm an 18-point lead, 46-28, at the half, making this the second time that the Storm dominated the Beavers in the first half this season.

To open the second half, the Storm did not allow the Beavers to score for the first four minutes. Midway through, Curran nailed another three-ball to open the Storm's largest lead of the game at 66-40. From there, the Beavers never seriously threatened the lead, despite improved shooting in the second half. The Storm led by 20 or more points for the rest of the game, as 16 total players saw action for Simpson.

The aforementioned Gibb scored a game-high 21 points, leading the Storm to 51.6 percent from the field. Curran poured in 19, while Easton Darling was the other Storm player in double figures with 12. Chris Honz was not needed in the scoring department, but he was crucial in other areas, leading the Storm in rebounds and assists, recording seven of each.

In addition to a 51.6 percent shooting night, the Storm nailed 45.5 percent of its three-pointers and made all but one of their 12 free throws. The Storm also recorded a season-high 22 assists, the most since last year's season opener against Faith Baptist Bible. Additionally, the Storm only committed eight turnovers, the lowest amount in five games.

Up Next

The Storm travel to Dubuque on Saturday to continue the final run of conference play.