The University of Redlands men's basketball team hosted the Cal Lutheran University Kingsmen for an exhibition match-up in Currier Gym on Saturday night. In a game that featured 13 ties and 11 lead changes, the Bulldogs took advantage of Kingsmen miscues, scoring 27 points off turnovers, and excitingly ended up on the winning side of a tight, 80-79 decision.
Cal Lutheran found its rhythm early and built a 10-point lead just seven minutes into the contest, forcing Redlands to work from behind early in the game. Nonetheless, the Bulldogs remained relentless and subsequently went on a 9-0 run to pull within one, 14-15. First-year guard Robert Power (Pacific Palisades, CA) bookended the spurt with a jumper and a trey ball, while first-year guard Josh Himel (Jacksonville, FL) got in on the action by swiping his first of five steals and taking it coast-to-coast for a fastbreak layup.
At the midway point of the first half, first-year guard Elijah Randall (Chicago, IL) snagged a steal and passed it to first-year guard Tyson Legner (Phoenix, AZ), who found sophomore guard Ben Peterson (El Segundo, CA) for a crafty layup to tie the score at 18-18. Two minutes later, Randall completed the and-one play for the Maroon and Gray's first lead of the night, 21-18.
Played remained neck-and-neck over the next few minutes as Power and Himel combined for Redlands' next six points to go up 30-26 at the 6:08-mark.
The teams continued to match each other point-for-point over the ensuing minutes, with Redlands holding a slight, 45-43 lead going into the break.
After an encouraging halftime speech from Head Coach Eric Bridgeland, the Bulldogs entered the second half with all cylinders firing.
First-year guard Justice Marmara (Arlington, TX) opened the scoring with a shot from beyond the arc less than 30 seconds into the stanza. First-year guard Neil Owens (Pasadena, CA) then made his presence known with a steal and a fastbreak layup. On the very next play, Maramara stripped one away from Cal Lutheran and found an open Owens, who drained a three-pointer for Redlands' largest lead of the night at 53-45 with 17:31 to go.
A theme emerged over the next 15 minutes, as Redlands built a seven-point lead, Cal Lutheran would close it back to two, and so on. That rhythm continued for quite a while, but key buckets from Power and Randall and a three-pointer from Owens helped Redlands stay in front the whole time.
However, with just 1:45 left to go in the game, Cal Lutheran went ahead by three, 79-76, forcing Redlands to call a timeout.
A minute later, Randall drew a foul and remained calm at the line, making both of his shots to bring it back to 78-79. Himel played heads-up defense and came up with a big-time steal to give possession back to the Bulldogs. Now with just seven ticks left on the clock, Owens drove through traffic and found the hoop for a crucial layup to pull ahead, 80-79.
Redlands' solid defense held off the Kingsmen on their final attempt to secure another hard-fought and exciting victory.
Randall led the team with 19 points and six rebounds while Power and Owens chipped in 17 and 15 points, respectively. Himel swiped a team-leading five steals as Power and Owens added four each as well.
The Bulldogs head back to Cal Lutheran for their final game of the season next Saturday, April 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Thousand Oaks.
