REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Basketball team won their second straight game Saturday night beating the University of Puget Sound 80-66 behind a 34-point performance from senior Darne Duckett (Oakland, CA).
The Maroon and Grey improve to 2-1, 0-0 SCIAC, while Puget Sound drops to 2-2, losing both games they played here in Southern California.
Duckett led all scorers with a career high 34-points on 11-of-19 shooting, which included four triples to go with six boards, two assists and two steals. Neil Owens (Pasadena, CA) had a breakout game as well with 13-points and Romeo Mays (Vallejo, CA) had a season high double double with 11 points and 11 boards. He also blocked four shots in the win.
Redlands finished the game shooting 43% from the field, 24% from three-point territory and 68.4% from the free-throw line. They held the advantage on the glass 40-38, added 28 points in the paint and turned 22 Logger turnovers into 24 points.
The Bulldogs started off quickly putting together an early 9-0 run that put them on top 9-3. Justice Marmara (Arlington, CA) knocked down a triple, Mays added a layup and Sam Abere (Lake Oswego, OR) ended things with a jumper. Later Khair Jackson (Canoga Park, CA) stepped up with a huge three-pointer that made it a double digit deficit and UR didn't look back using a mid 11-3 run that opened things up in the first half. UPS attempted a comeback late getting within single digits at the 8:03 mark, but another eight unanswered capped off with back to back layins from Abere and Robert Power (Pacific Palisades, CA) would move the score to 35-21. Right before the half the Loggers gathered some momentum knocking down a three and having Liam Ruttledge add three free throws that made it an eight-point deficit. But after that it was all Duckett who provided two free throws and a buzzer beating three-pointer that gave the Bulldogs a 43-34 lead at intermission.
The Loggers mounted a push in the second half getting within three on a couple of occasions, but there was always an answer from Duckett who knocked down a triple and a pair of jumpers to keep UPS at bay. The turning point in the game came with 6:26 to go when the Bulldogs picked up a steal from Abere who then found Marmara down the court for a two-handed jam. This then led to a 12-2 run by the Maroon and Grey that put the Loggers away.
Redlands hits the road next weekend for a pair of games in the Pacific Northwest. They take on Pacific Lutheran on Friday, November 19 and will then play the University of Puget Sound again on Saturday, November 20. Both games will be played at 6:00pm.
