The University of Redlands men's basketball team battled it out with in-region foe, Whitman College (WA), on Friday in Currier Gym but suffered an 83-95 overtime loss after watching a 12-point first-half lead slip away, with much of the difference coming at the charity stripe late in the game.
Following a tight start to the contest, Whitman knocked down consecutive three-pointers to take a 21-15 advantage with 8:53 left in the opening frame.
However, Bulldog junior guard Connor Griffin (San Ramon, CA) converted a pair of shots from the charity stripe to cut the deficit to four before senior guard Ricky Peetz (Redlands, CA) hit a bucket from long range, making it a one-point game.
From here, sophomore forward Aljosa Bjekovic (Maribor, Slovenia) spearheaded an offensive outburst for the Maroon and Gray, firing off 11 of the team's next 15 points. In addition, Redlands' stellar defensive performance held the Missionaries to only a single basket during this spurt. With 2:02 remaining on the clock, the Bulldogs garnered their largest lead of the night at 35-23.
Nonetheless, Whitman responded to cut the deficit to five by the end of the first frame.
The opening 20 minutes saw Redlands put together a solid offensive showing that came at a clip of 41.9%. In addition, the Bulldog defense forced Whitman to make only 34.4% from the field. Rebounding also played an integral part as the Maroon and Gray hauled in 20 boards, as compared to Whitman's 15.
However, the tables turned in the second stanza, as the Missionaries rallied to force the overtime.
Redlands' senior forward Ian Gordon (Bellevue, WA) opened the half with a three-pointer, but the Whitman offense lit up the scoreboard with 14 unanswered points to take a 44-38 lead, which forced a Bulldog timeout.
But the Maroon and Gray was far from done, as freshman guard Sean Milligan's (Portland, OR) lay-up at the 16:11-mark breathed new life into his team. This inspired back-to-back shots from downtown by Peetz for a 46-44 advantage by the Bulldogs.
Leading 50-46 with 13:40 left on the clock, Gordon knocked down his second long ball of the night to initiate another Redlands spurt. From here, Peetz, Griffin, and senior forward Alex Rudd (St. Louis, MO) each converted a shot from beyond the arc, giving the Bulldogs a 62-53 lead just about midway through the second stanza.
But Whitman once again responded, converting a few long balls of its own to eventually tie it up at 66 with 6:15 remaining.
Neither team could put the game away, resulting in the extra period with a knotted score of 78.
During the overtime, the Missionaries jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, converting a pair of three-pointers early in the frame to make it 86-78. They kept their distance by taking care of business at the charity stripe, converting 11 of their 12 final opportunities.
Overall, Whitman went to the charity stripe 36 times and converted 25 attempts, while Redlands only had a 10-for-15 showing.
Peetz came off the bench for a 17-point performance, with five three-pointers and four assists for the Bulldogs. Bjekovic chipped in 14 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double, while Gordon scored 12 points. Senior guard/forward Eric Radford (Federal Way, CA) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. Junior guard Marco Kengott (San Diego, CA) dished out a team-high five assists.
Whitman (2-3) gained 20 or more points from three of its starters, with Matt Mounier leading the trio with 25 points.
Redlands (1-4) looks to take the positives of tonight's loss into the team's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) opener on Wednesday, when the Bulldogs welcome the Panthers of Chapman University to Currier Gym for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.