The University of Redlands men’s basketball team struggled to score from the opening tip-off, facing an early deficit that eventually turned into a 75-93 loss to visiting Azusa Pacific University. Although an improved second half propelled them within seven points, the Bulldogs could not close the gap in the waning minutes, suffering its fourth loss of the 2009-10 season.

Plagued by early turnovers and poor first-half shooting, the Bulldogs faced a 15-point hole at the break. Despite rallying to cut the Cougars’ lead to seven with 8:41 to go in the second half, Redlands struggled to shut down the APU offense, which shot 16-for-33 in the closing period.

The Bulldogs competed with the larger APU squad on the boards, earning 39 to their opponents’ 41. However, the difference appeared in turnovers at 24 to 15, and overall shooting, particularly at the free-throw line. The Maroon and Gray hit only 52% of its shots from the line but the Cougars went 19-for-25.

Redlands gained 14 points off the bench from junior center Jordan Sanvictores (Redwood City, CA), while junior forward Matt Dietrich (Phoenix, AZ) chipped in 12 points. Junior guard Justin Sobczyk (Palm Desert, CA) and senior guard Andrew Maertens (Salt Lake City, UT) contributed 11 points each, with Sobczyk adding four assists. Junior center Andrew Mills (Newcastle, WA) rounded out the team’s double-digit scorers with 10 points to go along with nine rebounds.

APU (6-4) gained 21 points from senior guard Dominique Johnson (Detroit, MI), going 7-for-14 from the field. Junior forward Caleb Burgess (Costa Mesa, CA) added 19 points as sophomore guard Marshall Johnson (Minneapolis, MN) tallied 16 points.

The Bulldogs (3-4) look to rebound on Dec. 20 with a road game against Chapman University at 3 p.m. in Orange.