The Rams pushed the lead to 41-27 with 18:29 remaining when Mike Halac connected on a three-pointer. The Storm rallied, going on a 17-5 run and tied the score at 46 when Brennen Tubaugh scored on a layup with 11:10 to go. Halac and Justin Decker each hit a three on the next two Cornell possessions to put the Rams up by six. Simpson would take their first lead since early on the game, 55-52 when Jason Parkinson scored on a layup with 7:47 to go. The teams would exchange the lead two more times before the Storm took the lead for good with 2:14 remaining when Jason Soppe scored on a layup. Simpson went up by five when Ryan Hittemiller sank a three-pointer four seconds later.
After McClananhan and Parkinson exchanged baskets with just under two minutes to go, McClananhan made it 64-62 with a three-point play with 68 ticks left on the clock. Mike Martin gave the Storm a four-point lead with a jumper with 35 seconds to go. With 22 seconds remaining, McClananhan cut the lead to 66-64. Cornell called timeout and fouled Simpson's best free throw shooter, Parkinson. The 6-4 Scottsdale, Ariz native, who entered the game shooting 84% from the charity stripe was only able to make 1-2 from the line, keeping it a one-possession game.
The Rams did not call timeout, setting up a three-point attempt for Nick Christensen with seven to go. He missed, but McClananhan grabbed the offensive rebound. He passed it back to Christensen who shot another three at the buzzer, but again he missed, giving the Storm the win.
Hittenmiller led the four Simpson players who scored in double figures with 16. Parkinson came off the bench for the first time in his career to score 15. Martin and Soppe each had 10 points. Soppe nabbed a career high 19 rebounds, the eighth most in a game in school history.
Halac charted a game high 21 points. In addition to his 19 points, McClanahan had five rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and two assists.
At Mount Vernon, Iowa(Small Multi-Sport) SIMPSON COLLEGE 67, CORNELL COLLEGE 64 SIMPSON COLLEGE (7-13, 3-8 IIAC) HITTENMILLER, Ryan 4-13 6-6 16; PARKINSON, Jason 6-12 1-2 15; MARTIN, Mike 4-6 2-2 10; SOPPE, Jason 5-8 0-1 10; TUBAUGH, Brennen 1-3 2-2 4; KASPERBAUER, T.J. 1-3 1-1 3; THORSON, Adam 1-5 1-1 3; KELLER, Mitch 1-3 0-0 2; CERVENY, Lucas 1-1 0-0 2; ALLEN, Brad 1-2 0-1 2; ELLENS, Scott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 13-16 67. CORNELL COLLEGE (6-15, 3-9 IIAC) HALAC, Mike 9-14 0-0 21; McCLANAHAN, Dan 7-17 5-7 19; ECKER, Jeff 2-11 1-2 7; DECKER, Justin 2-6 0-0 6; CHRISTENSEN, Nick 2-9 0-0 6; WENDT, Cameron 1-1 0-0 2; HEINDEL, Zack 1-1 0-0 2; PEDERSEN, Erik 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 24-60 7-11 64. Simpson College............... 23 44 - 67 Cornell College............... 38 26 - 64 3-point goals-Simpson College 4-12 (HITTENMILLER, Ryan 2-5; PARKINSON, Jason 2-4; THORSON, Adam 0-2; MARTIN, Mike 0-1), Cornell College 9-23 (HALAC, Mike 3-4; DECKER, Justin 2-5; ECKER, Jeff 2-7; CHRISTENSEN, Nick 2-6; PEDERSEN, Erik 0-1). Fouled out--Simpson College-None, Cornell College-None. Rebounds-Simpson College 40 (SOPPE, Jason 19), Cornell College 24 (HALAC, Mike 6). Assists-Simpson College 12 (ELLENS, Scott 3; MARTIN, Mike 3), Cornell College 14 (HEINDEL, Zack 3). Total fouls-Simpson College 14, Cornell College 15.