INDIANOLA, Iowa (February 8, 2023) - The Buena Vista men's basketball team's rough start proves to be too much to overcome as the Beavers fall to Simpson College on Wednesday night, 87-62.

After making the first basket of the game, the Beavers struggled to find a rhythm. The basket would give them what would be their only lead of the game as it was nearly all Storm the rest of the way. 

Zane Neubaum, Noah Valdez, and Mitchell Countryman led BVU with nine points apiece. Collectively, the team shot 29.5% from the field, 23.1% from beyond the arc, and 87.0% from the charity stripe. The Beavers received most of their scoring from the bench, with the unit accounting for 40 of the team's 62 points.

The Storm were led by a game-leading 21 points from Andrew Gibb. Andrew Curran was next with 19 points. The duo contributed to a Storm squad that overall shot 51.6% from the field, 45.5% from beyond the arc, and 91.7% from the charity stripe.

Simpson (12-9, 5-8 A-R-C) used a fast start from distance, making 8-of-15 in the first half, while BVU was just 1-of-10. The Storm used that long distance accuracy to build a 46-28 halftime lead. A layup to begin the second half pushed the margin to 20, and Simpson would maintain that margin throughout the second half, leading by as many as 26 on three separate occasions.

With the loss the Beavers fall to 8-14 overall and 2-12 in American Rivers Conference play.

UP NEXT: The Beavers will travel to Waverly, Iowa on Saturday, February 11th for a matchup against Wartburg College. Tip-off is scheduled 4:00 p.m.