Fast start for the Storm not enough against Wartburg

WAVERLY, Iowa - Simpson raced out to an early lead but couldn't sustain the momentum as Wartburg notched an 84-67 win on a snowy Wednesday night at Levick Arena.

Kelly McCarville led four Wartburg players in double figures with 19, followed by Jordan Sathoff with 17. Mitchell Murphy handed out a game-high 10 assists for the Knights (8-4, 2-1 IIAC).

Rob King and Andrew Dau paced Simpson with 12 points a-piece, topping Tim Dunlavy's 11. Zack Barragan and Matt Fouch each distributed six assists for the Storm (3-9, 0-3 IIAC).

Simpson hit 9 of its first 14 shots in building a nine-point advantage just under nine minutes into the contest. Barragan started out a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc during the run which JJ Vanderheiden capped off with a layup at the 11:14 mark, promting a Wartburg timeout.

Following the timeout, the Knights mounted a 30-6 run over the next 7:45 in building a 15-point lead. Wartburg led 49-35 at the break.

Simpson couldn't trim the deficit inside 11 points in the second half as the two teams played evenly throughout the frame.

Simpson looks for its first Iowa Conference win of the season on Saturday when Loras (7-6, 2-2 IIAC) visits Cowles Fieldhouse for a women's and men's doubleheader. The women's game tips off at 2 p.m. with the men to follow.