The University of Redlands men's basketball team battled from start to finish with the visiting Stags of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday evening, but despite a valiant comeback-effort, the Bulldogs could not pull out the win in the 76-82 defeat. On Family Fun Night in Currier Gym, U of R supporters packed the stands for the exciting Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) contest.
The Bulldogs fell behind early in the first half and trailed 4-14 after just five minutes. Redlands then went on a 21-7 run over the next several minutes, however, and took a 25-21 lead midway through the first period. Both senior guard Ricky Peetz (Redlands, CA) and sophomore forward Aljosa Bjekovic (Maribor, Slovenia) nailed long-range efforts during that offensive spurt, helping to push the Bulldog offense forward.
The two sides traded baskets over the final seven minutes of the first stanza, and at the break, CMS led by two points, 36-34.
During the first 20 minutes, the U of R shot 44.0% from the field while hitting four from deep. CMS made just 39.4% of their shots from the field, but did nail six from downtown.
In the second half, both teams came out flying and hit shot after shot. After Bjekovic hit another three-pointer for Redlands with 16:26 left in regulation, the Bulldogs trailed by just one point.
Both sides battled and traded buckets, and with 8:08 remaining on the clock, Peetz hit another shot from beyond the arc, bringing the crowd to its feet as the game was tied at 62-62. Not long after, senior guard Matt Calhoun (Clackamas, OR) made one-of-two free-throws from the charity stripe and the Maroon and Gray led by one.
CMS, however, then went on an 11-0 run to retake the lead, at 73-63, with just under five minutes remaining in regulation.
Redlands would not go down without a fight though and clawed its way back. Free throws from senior forwards Eric Radford (Federal Way, WA) and Alex Rudd (St. Louis, MO) made it just a four-point deficit with 2:28 left.
The U of R sent the Stags to the free-throw line several times over the next two minutes, and with CMS missing a few from the charity stripe, it left the door open for Redlands. Four more clutch points from Peetz and a layup from Rudd with 51 seconds remaining cut the deficit to only two points at 76-78.
Needing to get a stop, the Bulldogs played tough defense all the way until the end of the shot clock, but a deep three-point effort from CMS senior guard Remy Pinson (Rye, NY) sank the Bulldogs' hopes, as the next possession down the floor did not turn into any points for Redlands.
In the loss, Peetz led the way for the U of R with 19 points on a very efficient 7-for-11 shooting effort from the field. Bjekovic chipped in with 14 points and seven boards, while Calhoun provided 12 important points off the bench. Additionally, Radford tallied 11 points on the evening.
For the Stags (12-4, 7-0 SCIAC), Pinson led the way with 30 points, including a 9-for-12 effort from beyond the arc. In addition, senior guard Tyler Gaffaney (Mill Valley, CA) added 21 points.
As a team, the U of R shot 48.1% from the field, while CMS shot 49.1% overall. Ultimately, the 16 three-pointers for the Stags proved to be the difference in the tight SCIAC affair.
The Bulldogs (7-10, 3-5 SCIAC) return to the court on Wednesday evening when they host Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (13-5, 8-1 SCIAC) in an important conference contest. Tipoff in Currier Gym is set for 7:30 p.m.
