Gretzky scores 24, Storm men win at Wartburg

WAVERLY, Iowa - Dillon Gretzky scored 24 points, Ryan Skaar had 17 and the Simpson men's basketball team held off Wartburg 80-75 on Wednesday night.

Simpson led almost the entire game, but Wartburg had a chance to tie in the final 20 seconds. Trailing 78-75 after Austin Turner missed a pair of free throws, Wartburg failed to get up a shot on the ensuing possession as Cam Kickbush threw it out of bounds with five seconds left.

Skaar went 4-for-7 from 3-point range in the first half and Turner scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half. DJ Dafney had nine points and 11 rebounds for the Storm (10-6, 3-2 Iowa Conference), who won for just the third time in Waverly since the 1999-2000 season. 

Jordan Cannon had 17 points and Nick Webber 15 for the Knights (9-7, 2-3), who lost despite shooting 51 percent from the field.

Webber made the first shot of the game but Skaar answered with a 3-pointer, and Simpson led the rest of the way. Skaar, Dafney and Gretzky all hit 3-pointers as the Storm went on a 13-4 run to build an early 18-8 lead. 

Simpson led by as many as 12 in the second half, going ahead 65-53 after a 3-point play and a 3-pointer by Turner with 11:04 left. Wartburg came back, pulling within 78-75 on a Nate Woeste layup with 29 seconds left. 

Up next: Simpson hosts Luther on Saturday. The Norse (3-13, 2-3) lost to Loras 85-67 on Wednesday.