REDDING, Calif. - The men's basketball team dropped a nail-biter to Westcliff tonight as they fell 64-61.
The first points of the night came on a three-pointer by
Dylan Harms to get Simpson on the board.
The Warriors took the one-point lead, 19-18, with just under seven minutes left in the first half before the Red Hawks rallied for eight straight points as
Kellen Torrey drained back-to-back three pointers and converted on both of his free throws from the line to give Simpson its largest lead of the first half, 26-19.
The final points of the first half came from the Warriors to cut the Red Hawks' lead to four points heading into the half, 31-27.
Torrey had a huge first half off the bench as he posted a team-high 11 points, as he shot a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc and 2-2 from the line.
Simpson and Westliff exchanged buckets as the Warriors took the two-point lead with just under three minutes left in regulation before a tough layup by
Timothy Parker tied the game at 59.
A crucial foul by Simpson allowed the Warriors to take the 61-59 lead with under a minute left in the second half. But Simpson quickly countered as
Aidan Rolfs fed a wide-open
Jack Jillson for the game-tying basket with 27 seconds left in the game.
However, the Warriors hit what would be the game-winning three-pointer to take the three-point lead with six seconds on the clock.
A couple of crucial turnovers allowed the Red Hawks to get one more shot with 1.1 seconds on the clock, but it fell short as the Warriors escaped Redding with a 64-61 victory.
Nian Allen led the Simpson offense with 15 points to go along with six rebounds, while
Aidan Rolfs just missed a double-double with nine rebounds and 12 points.
Simpson is back in action this Saturday at 7:30 pm as they celebrate their senior night game against Stanton University.
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