The University of Redlands men’s basketball team faced a must-win situation against the University of La Verne in last night’s final Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) game of the regular season. Unfortunately, the Leopards played spoiler for the Bulldogs and handed them a season-ending 76-88 loss, which keeps them out of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament.

The Maroon and Gray trailed from the opening tip and then finally gained a one-point lead with 7:37 remaining in the first half. It was a back-and-forth game during the final few minutes but La Verne rallied for a four-point lead at the break.

During the second half, the Leopards jumped out of the gate with a basket from beyond the arc on their opening possession and never looked back.

After trailing by 10, Redlands cut it to one with 6:35 left in the game but La Verne’s solid free-throw shooting down the stretch put the game out of reach for the Bulldogs.

Junior center Jordan Sanvictores (Redwood City, CA) led the Maroon and Gray with 13 points in only 13 minutes of action. Junior forward Matt Dietrich (Phoenix, AZ) chipped in 10 points, while junior forward Bryan Schwartz (Las Vegas, NV) added nine points.

With the loss, the Bulldogs drop out of the top four in the conference and therefore miss the cut for the SCIAC Postseason Tournament. Redlands (12-13) finished fifth in the standings with an 8-6 record, while La Verne (9-16, 5-9 SCIAC) ended in a tie for sixth place.