The University of Redlands men's basketball team opened the 2013-14 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) campaign with a tight 56-61 defeat to Chapman University in Currier Gym on Wednesday night. After leading by three points at the half, the Bulldogs endured a back-and-forth, defensive battle that came down to the waning minutes of the game. A 50-all tie turned into a four-point deficit, with Chapman scoring on consecutive possessions to gain the difference in the final score.
From the opening tip, the Maroon and Gray faced an early hole as Chapman's offense was clicking on all cylinders. Down by as many as nine in the first few minutes, Redlands responded by settling into a productive rhythm that led to a 15-6 run, as senior guard Ricky Peetz's (Redlands, CA) fade-away jumper knotted the score at 20 with 5:03 left in the half.
On the Panthers' ensuing play, sophomore forward Kyle Milligan (Portland, OR) swatted away a Chapman shot, with the ball finding his brother, freshman guard Sean Milligan (Portland, OR), for the key defensive board. Redlands took its first lead of the night when junior guard Marco Kengott (San Diego, CA) converted on a second-chance play by snagging the rebound and making the jumper. This spurt of momentum for the Bulldogs forced Chapman to call a timeout with 4:09 to go.
From here, sophomore forward Aljosa Bjekovic (Maribor, Slovenia) and senior forward Eric Radford (Federal Way, CA) combined for the Maroon and Gray's final eight points of the half, resulting in the 30-27 advantage at the break.
During the second stanza, neither team successfully broke open the game, as the competitors continued to trade punches and possessions.
After Bjekovic converted a pair of free-throws for the Bulldogs, the score was tied at 50 with less than four minutes remaining in the half.
Chapman then knocked down baskets on consecutive opportunities, putting the Panthers up by a score of 54-50 with 2:45 left on the clock.
Although senior guard Kendel Glapion's (San Francisco, CA) quick lay-up cut the deficit to two, Redlands never recovered the difference and was forced to foul in the final 18 seconds of the game.
Radford led the Maroon and Gray with 17 points, including two of the team's three buckets from downtown. Bjekovic came off the bench to provide 15 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
Chapman's five starters were the only Panthers to score in the game, with Taylor Hamasaki leading the effort with a game-high 27 points. Nick Dragovich added 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Colin Zavrsnick chipped in 10 as the only other double-digit scorer.
Overall, Redlands shot 35.8%, as compared to Chapman's 39.7% effort. In addition, the Panthers registered a slight advantage in rebounding with 41, with the Bulldogs pulling in 33. However, the Maroon and Gray produced 14 second-chance points, with Chapman (3-2, 1-0 SCIAC) only earning seven.
Redlands (1-5, 0-1 SCIAC) takes on Whittier College in another SCIAC showdown on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Currier Gym.
