Cornell hands Simpson 62-53 loss

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - Chris Handke turned in a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds and Cornell notched a 62-53 win against Simpson Wednesday night in Mount Vernon.

Leading by two at intermission, the Rams (13-6, 7-3 IIAC) opened up a 39-27 advantage with a 12-2 run to start the second half.

J. Ryan Lott scored a game-high 14 points and Matt Lewis added 13, helping Cornell break a two-game losing streak.

Matt Fouch (Kirksville, Mo./La Plata) scored a team-high nine points to lead the Storm (4-15, 1-9 IIAC), which dropped its fourth game in a row. Tim Dunlavy (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) added eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Anthony Miller (Sacramento, Calif./Buena) had eight points off the bench.

Entering the game ranked second in the Iowa Conference in three-point percentage, Simpson hit only 2-of-17 attempts from long range in the contest.

Trailing by 11 with 7:31 remaining in the game, the Storm mounted a 6-0 run to pull within five on a JJ Vanderheiden (Glidden, Iowa/Glidden Ralston) jumper with just under six minutes to go.

Following the spurt, Cornell made 5-of-6 free throws and Lott got to the hoop for layup as the Rams extended their lead.

Simpson returns to action Saturday when it travels to Dubuque to take on Loras in a 4 p.m tipoff. The Duhakws (11-7, 6-3) were not in action Wednesday.