The University of Redlands men's basketball team traveled to Orange for a Saturday afternoon showdown with the No. 18 Chapman University Panthers. Despite out-scoring the competition in the second half, the Bulldogs struggled to shut down the efficient offense of the home team in the opening frame, leading to the Maroon and Gray's 63-83 loss in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action.
During the early part of the contest, the teams traded baskets with Chapman holding a slight advantage at 20-17 through the 11-minute mark.
But a 10-0 run by the Panthers created quite a deficit for the Bulldogs to overcome.
The half ended with Chapman gaining a 47-26 lead after shooting 55.9% in the opening 20 minutes.
From here, Redlands continued to battle, refusing to let the Panthers extend their advantage. In fact, the Bulldogs outscored the home team by a one-point margin in the second stanza.
Sophomore guard Sean Milligan (Portland, OR) scored in double figures for the first time since Dec. 30, pouring in a team-high 15 points. Junior forward Aljosa Bjekovic (Maribor, Slovenia) backed him with 11 points while adding three rebounds and three assists.
Chapman's (16-0, 7-0 SCIAC) Colin Zavrsnick led all players with an impressive 29-point effort on 11-for-20 shooting, including a 4-for-10 performance from downtown.
Overall, the Panthers put together a 50% shooting effort, as compared to the Bulldogs' 37.9% performance.
Redlands (5-10, 2-4 SCIAC) returns home on Tues., Jan. 27, for a 7:30 p.m. match-up against the University of La Verne in Currier Gym.