The University of Redlands men's basketball team traveled to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Wednesday evening, and despite putting forth a valiant effort in the final men's basketball game at Ducey Gymnasium, the Bulldogs fell to the Stags, 63-74. The U of R needed a win on the night to keep its hopes of earning a berth in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament alive, but with the loss, the Bulldogs became eliminated from any chance at postseason play.
Ducey Gymnasium was named after long-time CMS men's basketball and men's tennis head coach, Ted Ducey, father of current U of R head coach, Jim Ducey.
The Maroon and Gray started the game strong, jumping out to an early 12-7 lead thanks to a couple of long-range efforts from sophomore forward Aljosa Bjekovic (Maribor, Slovenia).
Both sides played a fast-paced first half for the remainder of the 20 minutes, and at the break, the U of R led, 29-28. As a team, Redlands shot 46.2% from the field and 3-of-8 from downtown, while CMS shot 37.9% from the field and 4-of-11 from beyond the arc.
The Stags regained a quick lead after a few minutes in the second stanza, but senior forward Eric Radford (Federal Way, WA) converted a layup opportunity to tie the game at 36-36.
CMS then used a 19-12 run, however, to grab the advantage and momentum at the pivotal point in the SCIAC contest with 7:27 left on the clock.
Down the stretch, the Bulldogs had to foul the Stags and send CMS (18-5, 13-1 SCIAC) to the charity stripe in hopes of trading missed free-throws for made buckets on the other end. With just 55 seconds remaining in regulation, junior guard Marco Kengott (San Diego, CA) nailed a three-pointer to bring Redlands to within six points.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that would be as close as they would get, as the Stags made their free-throws during the final minute, securing the 11-point triumph.
On the night, Radford led the way offensively for Redlands with 17 points and five rebounds, while Bjekovic tallied 15 points, seven boards, two assists, and two steals. Off the bench, Kengott provided an efficient 13 points on a 6-of-7 shooting effort from the field.
As a team, the U of R shot 39.0% from the field and just 4-of-17 from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs (10-14, 6-9 SCIAC) play in their final game of the 2013-14 season on Tuesday, February 25, when they host Occidental College on Senior Night. Tipoff in Currier Gym is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.