REDDING, Calif. - Simpson University men's basketball got off to a hot start in its first game of the season at home against William Jessup on Sunday, Oct. 30.

The Red Hawks led 25-14 in the first 11 minutes of regulation guided by senior, Javonntie Jackson.

Jackson in his Simpson debut scored 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field but Simpson squandered its early lead and fell to William Jessup 86-74.

Jessup senior, Cashemin Williams scored 40 points on 14-of-21 shooting from the field including 5-of-9 from 3-point range to lead the Warriors (1-0).

Jackson was one of three Red Hawks players in double digits. Returning senior and 2021 Cal Pac All-Conference team member Gary "Fear the Patch" Mims added 18 points on 4-of-9 from the field. Junior, Aaron Burt added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Simpson (0-1) collectively shot 24-of-50 from the field and 6-of-15 from 3-point range. The Red Hawks also committed 19 turnovers compared to William Jessup who committed 11 turnovers.

"Ironically, it wasn't our defense that got us in trouble, it was really our offense," Simpson coach Todd Franklin said. "We stopped moving the ball effectively and tried to do everything off the dribble."

"We just did what coach told us," Jackson, a NCAA DI transfer from Long Beach State said. "We had to be aggressive and attack the rim early and make sure we could get them off the line."

The Red Hawks play four more road games before returning to Redding to face Oregon Tech on Nov. 26. Simpson battles Northwest Indian College (1-3) on Monday and Portland Bible College on Tuesday.