REDDING, Calif. - Simpson men's basketball improves to 2-0 in conference play after a solid 91-82 victory over Benedictine-Mesa. The bi-annual Red Hawk off between the two teams in the Cal Pac with the same nickname remained close throughout.

After a slow first half for both clubs, the pace quickly turned into a track meet as Simpson tallied a season-high 59 second half points. Simpson led by as much as 15 before BenU came rifling back to cut the lead to two points with four minutes remaining. 

SU took the gut punch and countered getting key stops and handling the defensive pressure and extending the lead back to nine to pick up the vital win.

On a night where Simpson got to the line 43 times knocking down 32 of the attempts, they also shot a proficient 54 percent from the floor. Aaron Berry led the Red Hawks in scoring with 23 points on 5 of 8 from the field shooting and 100 percent from the free throw strip on 11 tries. Blake Trent drilled four three pointers tallying 22 points while Jalen Cooper recorded 13 points and six assists.

Simpson continues a very impressive 2018-19 season and with the first win in 2019, the Red Hawks continue to head into the heart of conference play. A 2-0 start is exactly the way Head Coach Todd Franklin intended to begin the Cal Pac.

SU improves to 8-5 on the year and will look to go 3-0 in the conference on Saturday, as Embry-Riddle comes to town to take on Simpson at 7:30 pm in the Grant Center.