REDDING, Calif. - Simpson University men's basketball nearly accomplished something that has never been done in school history, beat Oregon Tech. The Hustlin' Owls have been a longtime powerhouse in the NAIA and this season are receiving votes in the national poll once again. The final score and closeness of the game shows how much improvement has come from the men's basketball program in recent years.

SU fell to Oregon Tech in overtime 84-79. Simpson built up a 15-point lead early in the first half, but Oregon Tech continue to chip away and eventually got the hot hand and marched back into the game to force overtime.

"Obviously a very disappointing overtime loss to Oregon Tech," Head Coach Todd Franklin said, "but the takeaways we learned far outweigh the negative. You have to credit OIT for making some huge shots late in the second half and overtime and we still had chances but didn't convert."

The Owls went 7-11 from the 3-point line in the second half and ramped up their shooting percentages across the board in the second half and overtime finishing above 50 percent after just 31 percent in the first half.

"I thought we did some really good things defensively, which is huge heading into our three home conference games this weekend," Franklin said.

Simpson's defense in the first half caused lots of issues for OIT holding them to below 32 percent and forcing some key turnovers, but some key plays late in the second half and overtime is where the Owls were able to convert.

"We were one play away from celebrating," Franklin said, "Everything is about improving and becoming better versions of ourselves and now having gone through this should help next time we find ourselves in this situation."

Javonntie Jackson led SU in scoring with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Gary Mims (14 points), Drey Ubas (10 points), and Akin Branco (14 points) all finished in double figures.

Simpson will get back into conference play this next week with three key home games taking on Park-Gilbert, BenU Mesa, and Embry-Riddle in the Arizona-trio. The first contest of the three takes place on Thursday, December 1st at 7:30 PM in the Grant Center.