The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
BASKETBALL RECRUITING nior, Simpson — who is the No. 86 overall player nationally according to Rivals.com — had an equally memo‑ rable few weeks. Simpson had set a school record earlier in the year with a 59‑point performance against Fre‑ mont (Ohio) Ross, but he one‑upped himself when he scored 65 points against the same opponent. O n D e c . 1 5 , Simpson broke the city mark of 57 set by Lima (Ohio) Senior 's G r e g S i m p s o n ( h i s u n c l e ) i n 1992. On Feb. 2, Simpson scored his 65 in a 103‑54 home win, notch‑ ing 56 of them in three quarters. He broke the record with a hoop at the 5:12 mark of the fourth quar‑ ter, and Spartans c o a c h — a n d Xavier 's dad — Quincey Simpson pulled four start‑ ers and left his son on the floor to be brought out to a standing ovation. "It feels great. I'm happy for my teammates and coaches; they had a mindset to let me break the record," Simpson told LimaOhio.com. "They wanted me to break it, and I'm very thankful for the unselfish teammates that I have." Simpson was 15 of 23 on two‑point shots, 6 of 10 on triples and 17 of 18 from the line. He had 21 points in the first quarter and 34 at the half. "We had a tremendous first quar‑ ter, and at the half we decided to let him break it if he was in position to do so," Quincey S i m p s o n s a i d . "You try to be respectful of the g a m e a n d t h e other team, but he deserved it. He has put in the hours both in the morning and eve‑ ning." A week earlier, Simpson enjoyed another memo‑ r a b l e m o m e n t when he sank a 12‑foot, step‑back jumper with one second left to give Lima (Ohio) Se‑ nior a 54‑52 win over Lima (Ohio) Central Catholic Jan. 26 before a sold‑out crowd. "I had a pretty good idea how much time was left because I started walking him [the player guarding him] down with five, six seconds left and tried to get a reaction and hope‑ fully, I could make a move and react in the opposite direction," Simpson said. "I was just happy I made the Michigan signee Xavier Simpson, a 5-11 guard from Lima, Ohio, scored 65 points in a game to break his uncle's city record of 57 set in 1992. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM