Onward to CalPac Championship Game

Simpson Defeats William Jessup 80-68

- (2/23/2007)

MEN’S BASKETBALL:  #7 Simpson upsets #2 William Jessup to advance to Championship game against Holy Names University at 7:00 Saturday at CSU East Bay in Hayward.

 

Guard Alex Nixon’s 22 points helped carry the #7 Simpson University Red Hawks (9-23/5-11/3-0) to an 80-68 upset over the #2 William Jessup University Warriors (18-12/11-5/0-1) on Friday in the California Pacific Conference Semi-finals.

 

Nixon also grabbed seven rebounds on the day for Simpson.  Freshman point guard Jason Washington added 16 points and forward Daniel Eoff had 15 points.  Junior forward Eddie Willingham added a team-high 11 rebounds for the Red Hawks.

 

In the loss, Joseph Mitchell went 7-of-11 and 2-of-2 from behind the three-point line to score a game-high 24 points.  Mitchell also pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds in all 40 minutes.  Senior guard Brett Swarts and junior center Matt Kristoff were also in double digits for the Warriors, with 13 and 12 points respectively.

 

The game remained tight in the first half until Simpson hit a three-pointer at the end of the first half to take a 37-36 halftime lead and pushed the lead to as much as 18.  The Red Hawks limited WJU to .391 shooting from the floor while making half of their 62 attempts.

 

"Our record isn't indicative of the type of team we are, we've finally quit making dumb mistakes that haunted us early on" said Simpson head coach Josh Binderup. "We've gone through uncharted territories these past three games and we are enjoying the ride."