Central pulls away in tight contest
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Central (Iowa) (14-4, 7-2 IIAC) | 38 | 46 | 84 |
|
Simpson (4-14, 1-8 IIAC) | 37 | 43 | 80 |
INDIANOLA, Iowa - Senior center Tim Dunlavy (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) scored a game-high 21 points but Central pulled away down the stretch, defeating Simpson 84-80 Saturday evening at Cowles Fieldhouse.
For the second time in as many games, the Storm (4-14, 1-8 IIAC) gave one of the Iowa Conference's top teams all it could handle, only to lose by a four-point margin in each instance. Simpson fell to Dubuque, 83-79 Thursday.
The league's second leading scorer, Miguel Ley headed the effort for the Dutch (14-4, 7-2 IIAC) with 20 points and five assists. Loren Liming turned in a double-double with 16 points and 19 rebounds, Justin Madsen scored 11 points and Mark Holan and Jack Bruns each added 10 for the conference's first-place squad.
After a quiet first half, Dunlavy broke out with 15 second-half points off 6-of-10 shooting. Andrew Dau (Primghar, Iowa/South O'Brien) registered 13 points and Elijah Knox (Scottsdale, Ariz./Cactus Shadows) came off the bench for 13 points and three steals, providing a spark for the Storm with 10 points of 5-of-6 shooting in the first half.
Despite Ley's offensive prowess, the Simpson defense forced the guard to commit a game-high 10 turnovers. Central turned the ball over 21 times as a team, resulting in 24 points for the homestanding Storm.
A face-paced contest from wire-to-wire, the lead changed hand five times and the two teams found themselves tied on seven occasions.
Trailing by nine with just over five minutes showing on the clock, Dave and Matt Fouch (Kirksville, Mo./La Plata) hit back-to-back treys to bring the red and gold within three. Following a Matt Fouch steal, Dunlavy drew a foul and knocked down both free throws, making the score 72-71 with 3:39 remaining.
Simpson could get no closer, however, as Ley scored nine of Central's final 12 points in securing the victory.
Simpson returns to action next Wednesday when it travels to Mt. Vernon for a matchup with Cornell (12-5, 6-2 IIAC). The Rams played host to Loras Saturday night.
