Simpson again led by 12, 53-41 when Jason Snyder hit a short jump at the 15:51 mark of the second half. Cornell responded with a 16-4 run that tied the game on a Matt Ditch three-point play four minutes later. The Storm scored the next nine points to take a 66-57 lead. Simpson led by as much as 11 down the stretch, but the pesky Rams wouldn't go away, cutting the lead to 76-70 with 1:19 to go on two Ditch free throws.
Simpson overcame the full-court Cornell pressure to score the final four points of the game from the free throw line and win in the Iowa Conference Tournament for the first time since 1999.
Jason Burkhardt led the Storm with 21 points on 8-11 shooting. Nick Boyd scored 13 (7-10 from the free throw line). Dirk Walker posted 11 points and tied Chris Perrin's (1993-96) school record for career assists. Walker's four assists brought his career total to 443. Barry Moore and Jason Snyder each added 10 for the Storm.
Cornell was led by Ditch who posted a game high 23 points. The Rams scored 11 of their 26 field goals from beyond the three-point arc. Andy Fox scored 13 while Jeff Ecker had 12 for Cornell.
Simpson (16-10) advances to the semifinals of the IIAC Tournament where the Storm will travel to Waverly to face #2 Wartburg Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. Cornell ends the season 9-17.
IIAC Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals. Simpson is the #3 Seed, Cornell College is the #6 Seed. SIMPSON COLLEGE 80 CORNELL COLLEGE 70 CORNELL COLLEGE (9-17) DITCH, Matt 8-18 4-4 23; FOX, Andy 6-14 0-0 13; ECKER, Jeff 4-10 0-0 12; PETERNEL, Andrew 3-5 1-2 8; CHRISTENSEN, Nick 2-7 0-0 6; McCLANAHAN, Dan 2-5 2-6 6; WENDT, Cameron 1-1 0-0 2; DYE, Ed 0-1 0-0 0; LAYS, Gary 0-1 0-0 0; HALAC, Mike 0-1 0-0 0; DECKER, Justin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-64 7-12 70. SIMPSON COLLEGE (16-10) BURKHARDT, Jason 8-11 3-3 21; BOYD, Nick 2-5 7-10 13; WALKER, Dirk 3-4 4-6 11; MOORE, Barry 4-6 2-2 10; SNYDER, Jason 5-10 0-0 10; HITTENMILLER, Ryan 1-5 2-2 4; MARTIN, Mike 1-2 0-0 3; ELLENS, Scott 1-3 1-2 3; BROWN, Matt 0-3 3-4 3; SOPPE, Jason 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 26-51 22-29 80. Cornell College............... 37 33 - 70 Simpson College............... 43 37 - 80 3-point goals-Cornell College 11-28 (ECKER, Jeff 4-6; DITCH, Matt 3-9; CHRISTENSEN, Nick 2-5; FOX, Andy 1-5; PETERNEL, Andrew 1-1; HALAC, Mike 0-1; DECKER, Justin 0-1), Simpson College 6-14 (BOYD, Nick 2-2; BURKHARDT, Jason 2-4; MARTIN, Mike 1-1; WALKER, Dirk 1-1; ELLENS, Scott 0-1; BROWN, Matt 0-3; HITTENMILLER, Ryan 0-1; SNYDER, Jason 0-1). Fouled out--Cornell College-None, Simpson College-None. Rebounds-Cornell College 33 (McCLANAHAN, Dan 8), Simpson College 35 (BROWN, Matt 5). Assists-Cornell College 18 (FOX, Andy 4; McCLANAHAN, Dan 4), Simpson College 13 (WALKER, Dirk 4). Total fouls-Cornell College 20, Simpson College 13. A-450