The game featured several runs. With the Storm leading 20-12 midway through the first half, the Norse outscored the Storm 14-0 to take a 26-20 lead. Simpson outscored Luther 19-6 to end the opening frame and take a seven-point lead into halftime.
The Norse began the second half on a 8-1 run to tie the game at 40, but the Storm thundered to a 19-0 run, highlighted by eight Jason Parkinson points. Simpson pushed the lead to as much as 29 before the game ended with the 78-54 final.
Parkinson led all scorers with 24 points. He added four assists and four steals. Ryan Hittenmiller scored 16 points (6-6 from the free throw line). Storm point guard Mike Martin was the next highest scoring Simpson player with seven points. He charted five assists (no turnovers) and five rebounds.
Luther was led by Drew Devin who shot 7-8 from the field to score 14 points. Andy Rump recorded 13 points for the Norse.
The Storm tied for seventh in the Iowa Conference with Central (7-18, 4-12 IIAC), but the Dutch hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Storm and earn the seventh seed. Simpson travels to the #1 seed Wartburg (21-4, 15-1 IIAC) Tuesday night for a Feb. 22 8 p.m. tipoff. Luther ends the regular season as the #6 seed and will play at Loras Tuesday night.
At Indianola, IA (Cowles Fieldhouse) SIMPSON COLLEGE 78, LUTHER COLLEGE 54 LUTHER COLLEGE (7-18, 5-11 IIAC) DEVINE, Drew 7-8 0-0 14; RUMP, Andy 4-8 4-4 13; BRANTNER, Tony 4-8 0-0 8; GRIMM, Brandon 2-7 0-0 5; LAKE, Eric 1-6 3-4 5; ROSBOROUGH, Jon 2-3 0-1 4; TUCKER, Zac 1-3 0-0 3; CAMPBELL, Andy 1-2 0-0 2; MCKINESS, Garett 0-0 0-0 0; WILHELM, Andy 0-1 0-0 0; NEHMAN, Nick 0-2 0-0 0; LOWE, Erik 0-1 0-0 0; JOHNSON, Matt 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 7-9 54. SIMPSON COLLEGE (8-17, 4-12 IIAC) PARKINSON, Jason 9-16 2-2 24; HITTENMILLER, Ryan 4-8 6-6 16; MARTIN, Mike 3-3 0-0 7; THORSON, Adam 2-2 2-2 6; TUBAUGH, Brennen 3-4 0-0 6; KELLER, Mitch 1-2 4-4 6; SOPPE, Jason 2-6 1-2 5; ELLENS, Scott 2-4 0-0 4; KASPERBAUER, T.J. 1-3 0-0 2; ALLEN, Brad 1-5 0-0 2; HAWKINS, Lyndon 0-1 0-0 0; CERVENY, Lucas 0-0 0-0 0; LARSEN, Kaj 0-0 0-0 0; GILBERT, Matt 0-1 0-0 0; COMBS, David 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-56 15-16 78. Luther College................ 32 22 - 54 Simpson College............... 39 39 - 78 3-point goals-Luther College 3-16 (RUMP, Andy 1-4; GRIMM, Brandon 1-2; TUCKER, Zac 1-3; ROSBOROUGH, Jon 0-1; CAMPBELL, Andy 0-1; JOHNSON, Matt 0-3; LAKE, Eric 0-1; DEVINE, Drew 0-1), Simpson College 7-14 (PARKINSON, Jason 4-6; HITTENMILLER, Ryan 2-4; MARTIN, Mike 1-1; ALLEN, Brad 0-2; GILBERT, Matt 0-1). Fouled out--Luther College-None, Simpson College-None. Rebounds-Luther College 31 (BRANTNER, Tony 7), Simpson College 31 (SOPPE, Jason 6). Assists-Luther College 10 (BRANTNER, Tony 3), Simpson College 22 (MARTIN, Mike 5). Total fouls-Luther College 14, Simpson College 13. A-250