Men's basketball drops season opener to Olivet

DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Storm men's basketball team fell 71-55 on the road to Olivet at the Loras Tip-Off Classic.

The Storm (0-1) offense got off to a slow start in the first half, scoring 20 points on 27 percent shooting. Simpson was able to find its groove more in the second half, but was unable to track down the lead Olivet (1-0) opened up, falling in the season opener. Levi Gurwell led the team in scoring 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting, while four different Storm collected five rebounds or more, with Nathaniel Winter leading the way with eight. Zay Howard came off the bench and collected five steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Cam Henderson scored the first bucket of the season for the Storm, which tied the game a 2-2, the lone tie of the game.
• Olivet used a 14-4 run to open up a double-digit lead early in the first, a lead it held onto for the rest of the game.
• A Caden Rehmeier basket and a pair of Austin Murrow free throws cut the lead down to 27-20 with just minutes left in the first half.
• Simpson's offense came alive in the second half, scoring 35 points on 45 percent shooting but was unable to close the gap, falling 71-55.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

• Levi Gurwell - 13 points, 2 assists, 2 steals
• Nathaniel Winter - 8 points, 8 rebounds
• Caden Rehmeier - 7 points, 5 rebounds
• Marcus Haupert - 9 points
• Austin Murrow - 3 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

UP NEXT
The Storm stay in Dubuque for their final game of the Loras Tip-Off Classic, taking on St. Scholastica tomorrow. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. with live stats and video available on simpsonathletics.com.