ANGWIN, Calif. - The men's basketball team fell tonight in its conference opener on the road against Pacific Union College, 67-57. 

Timothy Parker owned the first four points of the night for the Red Hawks as he connected on back-to-back free throws and a mid-range jumper to pull Simpson within one. 

A three-pointer by Drey Ubas tied the game at nine, followed by a jumper by Derek Gorden to give Simpson its first lead of the night. 

Simpson erased a five-point deficit and gained the five-point advantage on back-to-back buckets by Gorden. 

Gorden nailed a jumper followed by a three-pointer to give Simpson its largest lead in the first half. 

But the Pioneers answered back as they retook the 21-20 lead with just over five minutes left in the first half. 

The Red Hawks and Pioneers took part in a back-and-forth thriller that saw either team grow a lead larger than five points in the first half of basketball. 

The first half featured four lead changes and seven occasions of the score being tied which included both teams being knotted up at 27 going into the break. 

The Pioneers took the early second-half lead on back-to-back buckets before Ubas connected on back-to-back layups to retie the game at 31. 

A layup by Parker gave Simpson the 37-36 lead with just under 15 minutes left in the game. 

However, this proved to be Simpson's last lead as the Pioneers took the lead with 14 minutes left and never looked back. 

Pacific Union outscored Simpson 29-20 in the final 14 minutes to take the game 67-57 to open conference play. 

Timothy Parker had a team-high 14 points to go along with eight rebounds and two assists. 

Drey Ubas followed close behind as he notched 13 points to go along with one steal and three assists. 

DaMari Tate had a team-high nine rebounds to go along with four points. 

Simpson looks to bounce back this weekend as they take on California Maritime Academy at 4 pm in its conference home opener.
 

Be sure to stay up to date and follow us at @simpsonredhawks on Instagram, Facebook, and X.