REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Basketball team opened up Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play Wednesday night in a lopsided 91-73 victory over Whittier College.
The Maroon and Grey have now won two in a row and four of their last six improving to 4-3, 1-0 SCIAC. They hand the Purple & Gold their first loss on the season as they drop to 4-1, 0-1 SCIAC.
Four Bulldogs recorded double digits led by sophomore Neil Owens (Pasadena, CA) who put up a team high 19-points on 7-of-10 shooting. He was joined by senior point guard Darne Duckett (Oakland, CA) who almost pulled off a triple double with 16 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and nine assists. Graduate Student Romeo Mays (Vallejo, CA) played big inside all night chipping in with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go with five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks. Then off the bench Robert Power (Pacific Palisades, CA) provided a spark with another 14 points going 6-for-8 from the field, which included a pair of triples.
The teams went back-and-forth with multiple ties across the first six minutes of the game until UR was able to take the lead at 17-16 after Duckett found Mays for a layin. This sparked ten unanswered, which included a pair of three-pointers from Owens that moved the score to 25-16. But over the next 3:17 the Poets were able to string together their own run of ten straight that pulled them within one at 26-25. WC would continue with this momentum going on top 31-27 at the 6:25 mark, but that was soon lost as Redlands was able to answer with a pair of triples from Duckett and Owens. Sam Abere (Lake Oswego, OR) knocked down his first three-pointer later in the half that gave the Bulldogs their first double-digit lead of the game at 42-31 and this would be a part of a 21-6 run by UR that gave them a 48-37 lead at intermission.
Whittier came out strong in the second half with eight of the first eleven points as they cut the deficit to single digits. But this comeback was thwarted by sophomore Justice Marmara (Arlington, TX) who converted four free-throws that helped re-establish the Bulldogs double-digit lead, 60-48. After leading by 16 on multiple occasions, UR saw their lead cut to 10 following a small burst by WC. But over the ensuing 1:20 the Bulldogs were able to grow their lead back to 16 thanks to Josh Himel (Jacksonville, FL) and Owens connecting from deep followed by jumpers from Power and Duckett.
The largest lead of the game came with 2:31 to play when sophomore Tyson Legner (Phoenix, AZ) scored off a Duckett assist, which moved the advantage to twenty-two, 91-69.
Owens had a game and season-high 19 points. Mays had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Duckett just missed a triple-double with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals. Power scored 14 points off the bench.
The Bulldogs shot 47.2% from the field, 41.4% from three-point territory and 52.4% from the free-throw line. They held the slight advantage 38-36 in rebounding, added 18 points off turnovers and put up 34 points in the paint, while getting 33 points from their bench.
Redlands returns to non-conference action this Saturday, December 4 when they travel up to UC Santa Cruz to take on the Banana Slugs beginning at 3:00pm.
