CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Fifth-seeded Simpson College (14-12, 7-9 A-R-C) and sixth-seeded Wartburg College (12-14, 7-9 A-R-C)
upset the high seeds in the opening round of the 2020 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Men's Basketball Tournament, advancing to the semifinals.
A strong offensive performance propelled Simpson to an 86-70 victory over fourth-seeded Buena Vista (18-8, 9-7 A-R-C).
Simpson shot 61.9% (13-of-21) from behind the arch, 62.2% (28-of-45) from the field, and 81% (17-of-21) from the free throw line. The Storm were led by four double-digit scorers in
Conor Riordan (22),
Kyle Wagner (21),
Collin Lister (19), and
Adam Reiter (11). Wagner was also the top rebounder for the Strom with five.
Buena Vista was unable to match Simpson's offensive output, shooting 44.1% (26-of-59) from the field, 20.8% (5-of-24) from deep, and 69.4% (13-of-19) from the free throw line. The Beaver's
Timothy Jeffries led all scorers with 27.
Lincoln Rock and
DJ McNeal each added nine points for BVU as the second leading scorers.
Noah Schmitt finished with eight rebounds to pace BVU on the boards.
A strong effort on the boards and solid night shooting helped Wartburg to an upset of third-seeded Loras College (17-9, 10-6 A-R-C), 79-74.
Wartburg out-rebounded the Duhawks 34-21 while shooting 51.9% 27-of-52) from the field, 50% (7-of-14) from three-point range and 78.3% (18-of-23) from the free throw line. The Knights' leading scorer was
Camry Moore, who finished with 21.
Jack Molstead was the team's second-leading scorer with 12 and T
yler Zumbach added 10 as Wartburg's third double digit scorer. Rebounds were spread across multiple players, but
Ryan Stulken grabbed nine to pace the Knights.
After shooting just 33.33% from the field in the first half, Loras finished the game at 45%, making 27-of-60 to equal Wartburg's made field goals. From deep, the Duhawks converted on 11-of-30 (36.7%) and finished 9-for-10 at the free throw line. Loras finished with four players in double figures,
Matt Dacy-Seijo (16),
Jake Healy (15),
JT Ford (10), and
Jackson Kolinski (10). Healy and Ford went one-two on the boards, collecting seven and six, respectively.
The Storm and Knights will look to add their names to the record book in 2020, as only two team's have picked up three road wins in conference tournament history. In 2017 Wartburg became the first team to win the tournament title as a No. 6 seed, while 2016 marked the first time a team picked up three road victories, as fifth-seeded Central College claimed the championship.
Simpson will make the trip to Lincoln, Neb. for a match-up against 10th-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan University (22-3, 15-1 A-R-C). Game time in Lincoln is set for 7:00 p.m. The other semifinal game will see Coe College (16-9, 11-5 A-R-C) host Wartburg, also slated for a 7:00 p.m. tip. The Prairie Wolves and Kohawks each earned first-round byes as the tournament's top two seeds. NWU won their fourth straight regular-season title to claim their fourth consecutive No.1 seed, while Coe secured the No. 2-seed as the regular season runner-up.
No.6 Wartburg College 79, No.3 Loras College 74 -
BOX SCORE
No.5 Simpson College 86, No.4 Buena Vista University 70 -
BOX SCORE
The A-R-C Tournament champion receives the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament. Currently, three A-R-C teams have made a strong case for the NCAA Division III selection committee, regardless of the AQ, with Nebraska Wesleyan (No. 2), Loras (No. 5), and Buena Vista (No. 6) holding spots in the most recent NCAA Division III West Region Rankings.
