MT. VERNON, Iowa – Cornelius Mosby scored 16 points and the Simpson men's basketball team built a big lead early in the second half but had to hold on down the stretch for a 66-62 win over Cornell on Saturday.

Mosby added eight rebounds and blocked two shots for the Storm (11-11, 8-6 Iowa Conference), who won despite shooting a season-low 1-for-16 from 3-point range.

Chad Boston scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and Drew Bentley added 10 and nine rebounds. Elijah Knox finished with five assists.

Simpson clinched a berth in the Iowa Conference Tournament with the win and Wartburg's loss to Loras.

Alex Miller finished with a game-high 19 points to lead the Rams (3-12, 1-13), who suffered their seventh straight loss.

Shortly after Cornell took its first lead of the game early in the second half, Simpson mounted a 16-0 run while holding the Rams scoreless for more than five minutes. AJ Arrington scored six points during the stretch, finishing with 11 coming off the bench.

But the Rams refused to go away, chipping away at the lead before back-to-back 3s by John Harth and Reggie Greenwood made the score 59-58 with 4:45 left.

Bentley answered on the next possession, pulling down a crucial offensive rebound before a lay-in gave Simpson some breathing room. A pair of misses from the free throw line by Joey Guth followed and Boston knocked down a jumper.

Cornell got the lead back down to three with 1:34 to go, but Mosby knocked down 1 of 2 at the line and the Rams couldn't come up with points on their final three possessions.

Next up for the Storm is a trip to Pella to face Central on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.