INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson men's basketball team was determined not to lose another close game.
Chad Boston (Des Moines, Iowa) scored a game-high 22 points, Elijah Knox (Scottsdale, Ariz.) posted his first career double-double and Simpson broke a tie game with an 11-3 run to start the second half, beating North Central (Ill.) 81-72 on Saturday afternoon.
After back-to-back losses by a combined eight points, head coach Charles Zanders knew the opening minutes of the second half would be crucial to the team's success.
"We wanted to establish ourselves early in the second half," Zanders said. "We were conscious to set the tone the first five minutes and not get in a hole again."
Boston continued to get to the hoop for the Storm (3-5), as the slasher is averaging 21 points per game over the last three contests.
"If he's playing well, we are probably playing well because he's opening up a lot of lanes for our guys," Zanders said.
Knox tied a career-high with 19 points and grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds. Zack Barragan (Ankeny, Iowa) added 16 points on 4-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
Defensively, Simpson held preseason All-American Landon Gamble in check. Entering the game averaging more than 16 points per game, Gamble finished with six in only 14 minutes of playing time after getting into foul trouble early.
"We thought we had our best chance if he was on the bench," Zanders said of Gamble. "We wanted to attack him and make him defend us. We couldn't let him get in a rhythm because he's a man-child in the low post."
The defending College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin champion Cardinals (3-3) did have success from the outside, hitting 10 3-pointers on the night. Vince Kmiec went 6-for-10 from distance for 20 points and Derek Raridon added 20.
Tied 34-34 at halftime, Simpson opened up an eight-point lead with an 11-3 run to start the second half. Cornelius Mosby(Chicago, Ill.) scored six of his 10 points during the run, including a put-back dunk off a missed layup.
Next up for the Storm is a home game against Grand View on Saturday, Dec. 17. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Cowles Fieldhouse.