ARCATA, Calif. – Humboldt State men's basketball put the first five points on the board and never looked back as it defeated Simpson 104-73 Saturday night in Lumberjack Arena.
 
The Green and Gold improved to 9-1 with the win and wrapped their non-conference slate with an undefeated 6-0 mark. Simpson fell to 1-13 overall.
 
HSU stormed out of the gates and scored the first five points of the game. The Jacks led by as many as 19 points in the first 20 minutes behind a 57.6 percent shooting performance.
 
Rakim Brown, Tyras Rattler and Will Taylor each scored eight first-half points.
 
The Redhawks looked energized after the break, but the second half was more of the same.  Rattler and Witzel knocked down the first two shots of the half, but it was Colin Caslick that stole the show.
 
Caslick led all scorers with 16 second-half points and finished with a career-high 18.  The Lake Oswego, Ore., native scored six points during a 1:33 stretch midway through the half.
 
A Caslick layup with 28 seconds remaining gave the Jacks their largest lead of the night, a 34-point advantage, 104-70.
 
HSU scored 62 points in the paint and its bench contributed 60 points. The Jacks shot 57.1 percent from the field.
 
Five Jacks, led by Caslick, finished the game with double-figure scoring totals. Justin Everett scored a career-best 16 points and finished a rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Rattler scored 15 on 7-of-13 shooting. Nikhil Lizotte and Brown added 14 and 12 points, respectively.
 
The Jacks return to action after a brief winter break and travel to face UC San Diego on Saturday, Jan. 1. HSU returns to Lumberjack Arena on Thursday, Jan. 7, and hosts Chico State in the annual Teddy Bear Toss game. Fans are encouraged to bring a new teddy bear or stuffed animal to donate to Toys for Tots.