REDDING, Calif. - The men's basketball team dropped its second game of the home stand against Westcliff University 64-73.
The Red Hawks and Warriors battled Saturday night in a pivotal playoff matchup, while just one game separated these two teams in a jam packed playoff race.
The Warriors jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before
Akin Branco hit a mid-range jumper to get Simpson on the board.
Followed by a
Garrett Streufert bucket to pull Simpson out in front.
Simpson would pad its largest lead of the first half to eight points after a jump shot by Streufert.
But Westcliff would reclaim the lead late in the first half after a three-ball put them out in front 26-25.
Branco would create a big play to end Simpson's scoring in the first half on a dunk after he stole the ball.
However, the Red Hawks would find itself trailing 33-27 going into the half.
Branco would lead the Red Hawks in the first half with a team-high nine points and three steals.
The Warriors would begin the second half with a 7-0 run before
Akin Branco would nail a layup in the paint to give Simpson its first points of the second half.
Westcliff would grow its largest lead of the night to 15 points with just under three minutes of play after a pair of free throws.
However, the Red Hawks would not go quietly as Streufert hit a jumper to begin the Simpson comeback.
Buckets by
Parker Martens,
Sam Shields, and
Akin Branco would pull Simpson within six points with just under a minute left to play.
But the Warriors were able to hold off the late Red Hawks surge to secure the 73-64 victory.
Garrett Streufert would have a big night in the paint as he registered a team-high 12 points and eight rebounds.
Akin Branco would share the team-high in points as he registered 12 of his own to go along with a team-high four steals on the night.
Sam Shields followed close behind with 11 points and two rebounds while shooting 4-7 from the floor.
With the loss, Simpson is in a tie for sixth place in the playoff race.
Simpson will look to get back on track as they hit the road to take on Cal Maritime this Thursday at 7:30 PM.
