STORM LAKE, Iowa (Jan. 4, 2023) - The Buena Vista University men's basketball team had its three-game overall win streak come to an end on Wednesday night as it couldn't overcome some sharp shooting by visiting Simpson College as the Storm went on to win 88-76.

The visitors came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, especially from downtown, making 7-of-10 attempts from behind the arc in the first half to build a 53-32 lead at the break. Easton Darling scored 22 of his game-high 29 points for Simpson in that first half, including a step back three pointer from near half court to beat the buzzer. He finished the game making 6-of-9 from beyond the arc.

BVU trailed by as many as 24 points during the first seven minutes of the second half before slowing starting to chip away. The team used a 15-3 spurt over the next seven minutes to climb back within 72-60 wih 7:26 still to go. Simpson, however, went on to score five straight to push its margin back to 17, and the Beavers never got any closer until its final score.

Zane Neubaum turned in a team-leading 26 points for the Beavers on 8-of-14 shooting. He also went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line and grabbed four rebounds. Gunner Reed added 16 points, five rebounds and three assists while Jacob Gaudreau came off the bench and turned in 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Michael Santich dished out five assists and also grabbed a team-best six rebounds.

BVU shot 43.8 percent from the field overall but was held to only 5-of-21 from downtown. It kept itself in the game by making 15-of-16 at the free-throw line.

Simpson, meanwhile was 57 percent shooting from the field, and finished 9-of-15 from long distance, while also making 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Andrew Curran added 16 points Buck Eagleburger chimed in with 10.

Buena Vista is now 7-6 on the year while dipping to 1-4 in league play. It looks to bounce back on Saturday afternoon at Coe College with tip-off set for 4 p.m.