REDDING, Calif. - The men's basketball team picked up a huge win as they edged Pacific Union 78-77 to win its third straight conference game.
Before the game, the Red Hawks honored six seniors;
Osumanu Nuhu,
Jace Mills,
Derek Gorden,
Pablo Correa,
Trey Conrad, and
Drey Ubas.
The Pioneers jumped out to the early lead before the Red Hawks got on the board from back-to-back dunks from Mills to energize the James M. Grant Center.
Simpson went on an 11-2 run to take the seven-point advantage as
DaMari Tate drilled a three and picked up five points.
Timothy Parker notched four points with
Osumanu Nuhu converting on two free throws.
The Red Hawks grew its largest lead of the first half to eight points on a layup by Parker with less than seven minutes to go in the first half.
The Pioneers pulled within two after they hit a three-pointer. But Mills put an exclamation to a strong first half as he picked up his third dunk of the night to closethe first half.
The Pioneers drew first blood in the second half before Parker hit a three-pointer to extend Simpson's lead to five.
The Pioneers nipped at the Red Hawks lead all night until they tied the game with just under seven minutes and took the lead with four and a half minutes to go in regulation.
Simpson regained the lead on a layup by Tate just inside of three minutes to retake the one-point advantage.
Parker added to his big night as he drilled a clutch mid-range jump shot with thirteen seconds left to give Simpson the lead.
The Red Hawk's defense came up huge as they recovered a last-second shot by the Pioneers before drawing a foul.
Things got interesting as Mills hit two free throws but a foul on a Pioneer's last-second heave drew a foul.
Simpson came away with the one-point victory as the Pioneers converted two of three free throws from the line.
Parker had a huge night as he posted a season-best 38 points to go along with five rebounds.
Mills had a big senior night as he posted a double-double with 13 points to go along with a team-high 11 rebounds.
With the win, Simpson moves into the fourth spot as they have won three straight conference games.
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