The Simpson men’s basketball team had a preseason scrimmage against Faith Baptist Bible this past Thursday at the Cowles Fieldhouse.
The Storm played 3 different games. The first two games lasted 20 minutes with a possession clock. The third game was 15 minutes with a continuous clock.
Simpson won the first two games 62-35 and 52-46. The starting lineup for the first two games was Cam Henderson, Levi Gurwell, Caden Rehmeier, Nathaniel Winter and Matt Schubert.
The starting lineup played well on Thursday night, but a lot of Storm’s success was from the players coming off the bench. Brody Travis, Bo Huston, Marcus Haupert, Zay Howard and Jacob Knauss all aided the Storm to their wins.
Travis had 25 points during the first two games, making him a key player for the night. Going 8-10 from the field, 7-8 from behind the three-point line, and 2-2 from the line.
When asked about his expectations for the upcoming season, Travis said, “To have a lot of fun and work hard day in and day out. We are ready to turn a lot of heads and make a lot of noise within the conference.”
When asked about his personal goals for the season, Travis said, “I’ve never been a huge personal guy because, at the end of the day, I just want to win. If we’re winning and having fun, then that’s all that matters to me.”
Simpson won the third game 19-17. The Storm’s starting lineup for game three was Will Dixon, Hayden Mead, Jacob Stewart, Colton Rasmussen and Michael KasperBauer.
Sophomore guard Mason Gorsh, now playing for Faith Baptist, had a homecoming game on Thursday night. Gorsh, who transferred from Simpson this past offseason, found himself competing against players he shared a court with last year.
The Storm finished up the season last year with a record of 9-16. This year, they return senior forward Caden Rehmeier, who played in 23 out of 25 games last season and shot 34.1% from the three-point line. They will also return fifth-year senior forward Matt Schubert, who shot 52.5% from the field last year.
The regular season starts this upcoming weekend. The Storm travels to Dubuque, Iowa, on Nov. 9-10 for the Loras Tip-Off Classic. They are playing Olivet College on Saturday, Nov. 9, and St. Scholastica on Sunday, Nov. 10.
