Despite Dunlavy's heroics, Simpson falls to Luther

INDIANOLA, Iowa – A determined last-minute comeback effort by the Simpson men's basketball team fell short as time expired, giving Luther a 70-67 win Wednesday at Cowles Fieldhouse.

Senior center Tim Dunlavy (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) turned in a monster performance with 29 points and 17 rebounds and the Storm (4-17, 1-11 IIAC) nearly erased an eight-point deficit with less than a minute to play.

Trailing 66-58 with 51 seconds remaining, Simpson outscored Luther 9-4 in the closing moments of the contest.

Holding on to a 69-67 lead with three seconds remaining, Luther's Cody Kirkpatrick went to the line with a chance to ice the game. He went 1-for-2 on the trip, giving Simpson an opportunity to tie with triple.

After scoring seven points in the final 51 seconds, Matt Fouch (Kirksville, Mo./La Plata) got the call from the right wing. His shot was on-line but ricocheted off the back iron as time expired.

Fouch finished with nine points and was Simpson's second-leading scorer. Dunlavy accounted for 19 of the team's 38 second-half points.

Dunlavy's double-double was his fifth of the season and 13th of his career. He also scored 20-plus points in a game for the 20th time in his four years at Simpson.

Simpson started the game hot, jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes. After the Storm's initial run, Luther recovered and neither team led by more than five for the remainder of the half. Simpson brought a 29-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Tied 44-44 with 9:18 remaining, the Norse sustained a 16-6 run to move ahead by 11 with 2:37 on the clock.

Part-two of Simpson's three-game home-stand continues Saturday, Feb. 6 when Wartburg travels to Cowles Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.