The University of Redlands men's basketball team shot at an impressive clip on Saturday evening on the road against Chapman University, resulting in an important 90-83 victory over the Panthers.  With Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) triumphs becoming extremely valuable at this point in the season, the Bulldogs put their best foot forward in the exciting win.

The U of R began the game hot, hitting its first four shots of the contest.  Senior guard Ricky Peetz (Redlands, CA) and sophomore forward Aljosa Bjekovic (Maribor, Slovenia) nailed back-to-back three-pointers to open the SCIAC battle, while freshman guard Sean Milligan (Portland, OR) and Bjekovic followed those up with a pair of jumpers to give the Maroon and Gray the early 10-3 advantage.

Sophomore forward Kyle Milligan (Portland, OR) added a couple of jumpers two minutes later to respond to a quick run Chapman had made.

U of R senior forward Ian Gordon (Bellevue, WA) and Peetz hit consecutive shots from distance midway through the first stanza, extending Redlands' advantage to 26-16.  The Bulldogs continued to stay hot from deep during the first half, with senior forward Alex Rudd (St. Louis, MO) coming off the bench and draining a pair of long-range efforts to push the lead to 39-23.

The Panthers (11-9, 5-6 SCIAC) made a late run to end the half, however, and at the break, the Bulldogs led 51-42.  During the first 20 minutes, the Maroon and Gray shot 62.5% from the field and 75.0% from downtown, nailing nine three-pointers in the process.  Chapman shot the ball effectively also, registering a 51.9% shooting effort during the first stanza.

In the second half, S. Milligan and senior forward Eric Radford (Federal Way, WA) sank jump shots early on to maintain the steady advantage.

After Gordon hit another long-range shot, senior guard Matt Calhoun (Clackamas, OR) and Radford both converted and-one opportunities, extending the lead to 18 points at 68-50 with 13:30 remaining in regulation.

From that point forward, the Bulldogs played solid defensively and continued to hit tough shots while converting clutch free-throw opportunities, ensuring the important SCIAC win.

As a team, the U of R finished the night shooting 58.5% from the field and 73.3% from beyond the arc (11-of-15).  Both marks were easily season-highs for the Bulldogs.

Individually, Rudd led the way with 21 points, while Radford tallied 19 points and went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe.  In addition, Bjekovic added 12 points for the Bulldogs, while S. Milligan was perfect from the field (4-for-4) with nine points.

The Bulldogs (8-11, 4-6 SCIAC) return to conference action on Wednesday, February 5, when they travel to the University of La Verne to take on the Leopards.  The important SCIAC bout is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m.