The Storm chipped away, and got the Grinnell lead down to eight, 128-120, when Jason Soppe hit a short jumper with 2:31 to go. A pair of Bobby Long free throws 25 seconds later made it a 10-point deficit. Grinnell missed five of their next six free throw attempts. Soppe made it 131-122 with 76 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws. Next time down, Long again made both free throw attempts to get the lead back into double digits. Soppe’s layup with 49 seconds remaining made the score 136-127. Long connected on another pair of free throws with 14 seconds to give the Pioneers a 138-127 lead. A Storm miss led to Doug Ticus making 1-of-2 free throws with 11 seconds to make it the final 139-127.
Soppe led all scorers with a career high 41 points. Soppe shot 16-of-24 from the floor which included two dunks. He was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. His 41-point performance was the fifth most points ever scored in a game by a Simpson player. He also pulled down a game high 12 rebounds. Ryan Hittenmiller also posted a career high as the 6-3 forward had 31 points. Hittenmiller added eight rebounds and seven assists. Jason Parkinson posted 27 points. Despite the loss, the Storm shot 69% (29-of-42) in the first half and 59% (49-of-83) for the game.
John Grotbert led Grinnell with 32 points. He was 7-of-22 from three point range. David Arsenault was 12-of-15 from the field to score 31 points. He also had a game high 10 assists. Long scored 22 points.
Simpson and Grinnell played for the first time since the 1997-98 season. It is the first time since the 1951-52 season (55-50) that Grinnell has defeated the Storm (a span of 10 games).
At Grinnell, IA (Darby Gym) GRINNELL COLLEGE 139, SIMPSON COLLEGE 127 SIMPSON COLLEGE (3-3) SOPPE, Jason 16-24 9-9 41; HITTENMILLER, Ryan 12-21 7-10 31; PARKINSON, Jason 11-16 5-7 27; TUBAUGH, Brennen 2-4 2-3 6; HAWKINS, Lyndon 1-2 3-4 5; DUNLAVY, Tim 2-2 0-0 4; JACKSON, Adrian 2-3 0-0 4; TRAVIS, Jeff 1-3 1-2 3; MARS, Chris 1-3 0-0 2; THORSON, Adam 0-3 2-2 2; DAU, Andrew 1-2 0-0 2; FEREZY, David 0-0 0-0 0; CERMAK, Brett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 49-83 29-37 127. GRINNELL COLLEGE (3-3) John Grotberg 12-30 1-4 32; David Arseneault 12-15 3-9 31; Keith Chamberlain 8-18 5-7 22; Bobby Long 4-10 11-12 22; Doug Ticus 2-4 5-6 9; Mike Schmidt 3-9 0-0 9; Trek Langenhan 2-4 0-0 6; Armando Guzman 2-2 0-0 6; Joey Snyder 1-1 0-0 2; Ahmed Idrissa 0-2 0-0 0; R.J. Roewe 0-1 0-0 0; Patrick Laine 0-0 0-0 0; Sean Pfalzer 0-0 0-0 0; John Bruns 0-1 0-0 0; Thomas Davis 0-0 0-0 0; Max Brauer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 46-97 25-38 139. Simpson College............... 71 56 - 127 Grinnell College.............. 73 66 - 139 3-point goals-Simpson College 0-3 (; HITTENMILLER, Ryan 0-2; JACKSON, Adrian 0-1), Grinnell College 22-63 (John Grotberg 7-22; David Arseneault 4-6; Mike Schmidt 3-9; Bobby Long 3-9; Trek Langenhan 2-4; Armando Guzman 2-2; Keith Chamberlain 1-5; Ahmed Idrissa 0-2; R.J. Roewe 0-1; John Bruns 0-1; Dou Ticus 0-2). Fouled out--Simpson College-SOPPE, Jason, Grinnell College-None). Rebounds-Simpson College 60 (SOPPE, Jason 12), Grinnell College 36 (Keith Chamberlain 6). Assists-Simpson College 28 (HITTENMILLER, Ryan 7), Grinnell College 24 (David Arseneault 10). Total fouls-Simpson College 33, Grinnell College 30.