CALDWELL, Idaho- In all three contests so far in the 2020-2021 shortened season, the Simpson Red Hawks have been on the doorstep of knocking off top teams in major NAIA conferences. Tonight, was more of the same.

In the first of a back-to-back, the Red Hawks fell on the road to the College of Idaho Yotes, 79-66. SU came out firing in the first half grabbing an early 23-21 lead and would eventually go on a 13-0 run.

In the first 20 minutes of action, the Red Hawks shot 45 percent from the field while connecting on seven three-pointers.

Head Coach Todd Franklin liked what he saw from the Red Hawks in the first half, "I really liked our energy and ball movement in the first half. We need to find a way to bring that for all 40 minutes tomorrow afternoon," Franklin says.

The Yotes came into the contest as the 23rd ranked team in the country and Simpson gave them all they could handle and it took a fantastic outing from Jalen Galloway (10-13, 26 pts.) to pull off the win.

"They are ranked in the top 25 for a reason- extremely well-coached and very disciplined," Franklin says.

The Red Hawks were tough on the glass tonight outrebounding the Yotes, but Coach Franklin had a few key boards in mind that cost Simpson, "We won the rebounding battle 38 to 36, but gave up three crucial offensive rebounds early in the second half that lead to three second-chance three-pointers that pushed the game just out of reach," Franklin says.

Simpson's bench production was a key contributor in the comeback efforts with 31 bench points, 15 coming from Aidan Falls, who drilled four three-pointers in eight tries.

Forward, Mason Johnson had a productive night for the Red Hawks leading the team in scoring with 20 points and he also added seven boards.

Simpson will hit the hardwood again tomorrow in Idaho at 3 PM PST against the Yotes tomorrow night and will look to split the two-game series.

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