The University of Redlands men’s basketball team took to the road on Saturday night for an important Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) game against the Tigers of Occidental College. After mustering a three-point halftime lead, the Bulldogs sat in position to steal one away from the second-place Tigers. However, Occidental’s offense erupted in the second half en route to handing a difficult 54-69 loss to the Bulldogs.

After a competitive and closely contested first half, Redlands gained a 29-26 lead at the break with a solid showing from the floor. However, the Tigers quickly took control of the game with their amazing second-half explosion that included a 61.1 shooting percentage while converting 18 of 25 opportunities at the line. The Bulldogs went 11-for-25 for a mark of 44.0% and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe.

Redlands made fewer turnovers than Occidental but the Bulldogs were edged in rebounding, 17-36.

Junior guard Patrick Coffey (San Carlos, CA) led the Bulldogs with 20 points, including two from long range. Senior forward Travis Miller (Coto de Caza, CA) added 14 points, while sophomore Matt Dietrich (Phoenix, AZ) chipped in 10.

The Bulldogs (6-12, 2-5 SCIAC) look to rebound on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.