Riverside, Calif. - The men's basketball team dropped to 1-6 in conference play with their two losses this week. The team was defeated by the University of California – Merced, 64-80, on Thursday evening, before falling 108-90 to Simpson University on Saturday night. The Golden Eagles will begin round two of their conference schedule this coming weekend.
UC Merced def. La Sierra, 80-64
Despite playing the Bobcats to a relatively even second half, La Sierra was unable to climb out of a first half deficit. Merced used solid defense and a balanced attack to keep the Golden Eagles at bay for most of the contest.
In the loss, the Golden Eagles balanced their scoring with four playing reaching double-digits. Kenny Lewis led the team in scoring with 14 points, three assists, and three rebounds. Cameron Jackson and Saladine Ganda each scored 12 points. Ganda added six rebounds to his tally, while Jackson contributed five rebounds on the night. Kyle Hamilton finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, and four steals, while DJ Everage pitched in with nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Simpson def. La Sierra, 108-90
In what proved to be a high-scoring affair, the Simpson Redhawks came out on top by virtue of a 62-38 halftime advantage. The Redhawks' Blake Trent scored 27 of his 35 points in the first half of play, while Trent and guard Aaron Berry accounted for 65 of the team's 108 points. Simpson shot a blistering 16-for-29 from beyond the arc.
The Golden Eagles were unable to dig out of a hole, despite outscoring the Redhawks 52-46 in the second half. The 90 points scored was a season-high for La Sierra, but unfortunately the team was unable to contain the Redhawks offensive attack.
Five players hit double-figures for the Golden Eagles, led by Everage's 21 points, on 6-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three-point range. Lewis added 16 points to the tally, while Hamilton finished with 14 points. Daune Darrett Jr scored 12 points and Kobe Stallings shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc for 12 total points. Ganda was held scoreless, but did lead the team with nine rebounds.
The men's basketball team will travel to the University of Antelope Valley, on Saturday night, to begin their second trip through the Cal Pac schedule. The Pioneers defeated La Sierra in their conference opener, back on December 8. Antelope Valley currently sits atop the conference standings with a record of 6-1 in Cal Pac play. Saturday night's game is scheduled to tip-off at approximately 830pm.
