The University of Redlands men's basketball team led wire-to-wire in Friday's contest of the Lee Fulmer Classic, taking down Bethesda University of California in an 83-68 performance in Currier Gym.  With junior forward Aljosa Bjekovic (Maribor, Slovenia) recording 25 points and 16 rebounds, the Bulldogs impressed in their home opener while shooting 49.2% from the field and 45% from long range. 

Bjekovic set the tone early by scoring the Maroon and Gray's first eight points, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers.

Junior center Shawn James (Plano, TX) joined the long-range action with a trey of his own to make it 15-4 with 16:12 remaining in the first half.

Although the Flames cut it to five at 23-28, Redlands headed into the locker room at the break with an eight-point advantage. 

The Bulldogs maintained a lead through the final whistle, thanks in part to solid scoring off the bench from senior guard Connor Griffin (San Ramon, CA) and sophomore guard Zack Whittet (Palm Desert, CA).  The duo combined for 25 points, which included four three-pointers.  Whittet knocked down back-to-back threes early in the second half, while Griffin's long ball came during his eight-point spurt that covered only 90 seconds of the clock late in the game.

Freshman guard Kyle Husslein (Tamuning, Gaum) and freshman guard Max Melder (Sierra Vista, AZ) represented the rookies well by logging quality minutes for the Bulldogs.

Junior forward Kyle Milligan (Portland, OR) and sophomore guard Sean Milligan (Portland, OR) served as the Maroon and Gray's playmakers, dishing out six assists each.

Redlands (1-2) faces American Sports University in Saturday's match-up of the Lee Fulmer Classic at 7 p.m. in Currier Gym.