Fouch leads Storm with 18 in loss to Grand View

INDIANOLA, Iowa  - For the first 20 minutes of play, Simpson had the nation's seventh-ranked team in NAIA on the ropes.

But Grand View pulled away in the second half, outscoring Simpson 43-18 in the frame on the way to a 73-54 win Tuesday night at Cowles Fieldhouse.

Junior guard Matt Fouch tied a career-high with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the Storm (1-3), but the Vikings (9-2) utilized a strong inside game to pull away in the second half.

"I thought we came out and played very well in the first half," Simpson head coach Bruce Wilson said. "The difference in the game was the play in the paint. We couldn't get our inside game going in the second half and didn't respond well to the adjustments they made at halftime."

Grand View outscored Simpson in the paint 28-8 for the game and 16-2 in the second half.

"Grand View is a good, physcial team and we didn't have an answer for them in the second half," Wilson said.

Simpson got a pair of stellar first-half performances from senior center Tim Dunlavy and sophomore guard Zack Barragan. Dunlavy led all scorers with 14 points and Barragan was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the three-point line as the Storm built a 36-30 halftime lead.

Fouch got the Storm off on the right foot with a jumper to open the second half, but the Vikings answered with a 15-3 run over the next 4 minutes 38 seconds. Joey Terpstra's jumper with 15:10 remaining gave Grand View the lead for good.

Matt Banzahaf had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Grand View, which held a 24-4 edge in second-chance points. Corey Viet led the Vikings with 20 points.

Simpson faces its final non-conference competition this weekend before opening the IIAC slate Dec. 2 at Central. On Saturday and Sunday, the Storm will take part in the UW-Platteville Classic in Platteville, Wis. Simpson will take on UW-Platteville at 8 p.m. on Saturday and Ripon at 1 p.m. on Sunday.