Redding, Calif. – After giving up an eight-point lead in the final four minutes of play, the Golden Eagles regrouped just in time to escape with a 73-70 win over Simpson University. It's the second straight win for the Golden Eagles and their first conference win of the year. The win pushes their record to 4-11 overall and an even 1-1 in Cal Pac play.

Senior Rey Solorzano had a monster night with a game high 19 points and 18 rebounds. Solorzano had a double-double by the halftime break, before fouling out in the final minutes of play.

La Sierra set the tone early with a strong defensive effort in the first half of play, holding the Redhawks to just 20-percent from the field on 7-of-34 shooting. Simpson finished the game shooting 37-percent from the field.

The Golden Eagles also struggled to find their rhythm on the offensive end in the first half of play but a late run 11-2 run by La Sierra, gave them a 31-22 advantage going in to the halftime break.

Each team exchanged their share of run in the second half, and the Golden Eagles led by as many as 13 points in the opening minutes of the second half. But the Redhawks fought back. Trailing 68-60 with 4:15 to play, the Redhawks put together an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to tie the score at 68-68.

Freshmen DJ Everage put the Golden Eagles back on top with a drive to the basket and converted a free-throw, pushing the lead back to 71-68, in favor of the Golden Eagles. Simpson then converted 1-of-2 free throws to cut the lead to two and were forced to foul, sending La Sierra to the line for free throws. Unable to convert, the Redhawks got the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead. Simpson's Aron Rudd was fouled on a drive to the basket and went to the foul line with a chance to tie the score again. After making the first of two shot, Rudd missed the second and the rebound was secured by Isaac Deese who was immediately fouled and sent to the line, where he converted both free throws to secure the victory.

Including Solorzano's double-double, the Golden Eagles had four player score in double figures. Kenny Lewis had 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-6 from the three point line. Deese matched Lewis with 14 points of his own, while Everage finished with 11 points and a game-high five assists.

As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 48-percent from the field (28-of-58), including 5-of-14 from the three-point line. They outrebounded the Redhawks by a slim 39-36 margin, while tallying 15 assists in the game.