Clutch shooting sends Storm to home victory over Luther

INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson College men's basketball team hit multiple clutch shots down the final stretch to hold off Luther, 77-65, in American Rivers Conference action at Cowles Fieldhouse.

Andrew Gibb, Andrew Curran, and Easton Darling combined for 61 of Simpson's 77 points, propelling the Storm (7-8, 1-5 A-R-C) to its first conference win of the season. Gibb poured in a game-high 25 points, nailing six of his seven attempts from behind the arc.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams started hot, but the Norse (5-10, 0-6 A-R-C) tightened up defensively and held the Storm scoreless for a period of over five minutes.
• The Storm ripped the momentum right back going into halftime. With Luther stretching its lead out to 27-18, its largest of the game, Simpson closed on a 20-6 run over the final 6:20 to take a 38-33 lead into halftime.
• Jack Hutchinson nailed a contested floater in the lane as time ticked down to provide an even larger spark going into the break.
• Gibb scored 13 points in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, but Luther kept Simpson from pulling away. Despite nailing a triple to put Simpson up 64-53, Gibb was called for a flopping foul, putting a damper on the positive Simpson run.
• Luther cut it to six points after Simpson, but a massive 3-pointer from Gibb put Simpson up nine.
• The Norse got it to within four points, but Curran nailed two incredibly tough and clutch shots. The first came on a heavily contested turnaround mid-range jumper as the shot clock expired, while the second was a stepback three that effectively sealed the game for the Storm.

TOP STORM

• Andrew Gibb - 25 points, 6-7 3PT
• Easton Darling - 18 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
• Andrew Curran - 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
• Caden Rehmeier - 5 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block

NOTABLE

• The Storm still trail in the all-time series, 84-81, but have won 12 of the last 15 meetings.
• Simpson has also won eight straight against Luther at home.
• Simpson shot 30 3-pointers, a season-high and the most since Nov. 13, 2022 against Westminster.
• Since Dec. 5, Andrew Gibb is shooting 56.7 percent from the field, 71.4 percent from behind the arc, and 89.7 percent from the free throw line.
• Easton Darling tied his season-high in points with 18.

UP NEXT
The Storm remain at home to take on Buena Vista next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.