REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Basketball team was short-handed again Saturday afternoon, but found a way to beat California Lutheran University 83-76 inside Currier Gym.
For the second straight game the Maroon and Grey were not at 100% due to COVID-19 Health and Safety protocols. Despite getting back two players they were still missing another four, but found a way to dig deep and pull out the win.
"COVID-19 has been brutal to our team's growth and conditioning on the floor," explained Head Coach Eric Bridgeland. "But our guys enjoy and care about each other and their collective spirit wasn't going to be denied today. Cal Lutheran is playing as well as any team in the West and to be able to unite and comeback to grab the victory, after trailing by double digits late, speaks volumes regarding the strength and perseverance of this team. I have never been prouder of this group."
Redlands improves now to 6-4, 2-1 SCIAC, while Cal Lutheran drops to 9-4, 2-2 SCIAC. The Bulldogs have also won four of their last five and currently sit Top-3 within the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Standings.
The biggest return for UR was Khair Jackson (Canoga Park, CA), who was cleared to play Saturday, and what a night he had putting together a career night with a game high 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting, going a perfect 3-for-3 from deep and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. He was joined by Justice Marmara (Arlington, TX) and Romeo Mays (Vallejo, CA) who each totaled 16 points each. Marmara also added four rebounds, while Mays picked up eight boards and a game high five blocks. The last Bulldog to reach double figures was Neil Owens (Pasadena, CA) who was also cleared to play Saturday and he combined for 12 points and four rebounds.
Darne Duckett (Oakland, CA), had a quiet night but still facilitated adding eight points with six assists and a pair of steals. Gunner Wooden (Canton, MI) also played big minutes tossing in five points to go with three dimes, a steal and two boards.
It was a strong start for the Maroon and Grey in the first half as Marmara went off for 11 points, joined by Jackson who added another nine points, while going 4-of-5 from the field. After trailing 9-3 after the first three minutes UR regrouped as Marmara would put together his own run of six straight. Four minutes later Mays then got into the mix sparking a 10-0 run with back-to-back layins followed by jumpers from CJ Sears (Palmdale, CA) and Jackson. This put the Bulldogs on top 19-11 and they would stay in front the rest of the half extending the lead to as many as 14, which came at the 3:45 mark thanks to nine unanswered, which included a triple and layup from Wooden, a pair of free-throws from Marmara and a jumper from Jackson. This made the score 35-21, but it was soon erased as CLU would rally to close the period out on a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to three.
Out of the break the Kingsmen swung the momentum getting a couple three-pointers early to take the lead at 42-41. This led to eight straight for the Purple & Gold who would go on top 48-41 at the 15:28 mark. The margin then extended to 16 following ten straight by CLU, but this time it would be UR rallying with Mays going off for five in a row that brought energy to the Bulldog bench and making it an eleven point game.
After the lead increased back to twelve, the Bulldogs were forced to make another run, this time adding twelve of the next sixteen points to get within three at 70-67. During the push, Mays picked up a steal and threw down a two-handed jam, Owens and Duckett knocked down jumpers and Jackson would end the run with a layup inside. Trailing by six with 3:27 to play the Bulldogs received a huge response from Jackson and Duckett would went back-to-back from deep that tied the game up at 73-73. Marmara then put UR on top with a pair of free-throws and Redlands didn't look back as Duckett would add a layin followed by four free-throws from Jackson and another two from Owens that secured the victory.
On the night Redlands shot 48.1% from the field, 38.9% from three-point territory, and 76.5% from the free-throw line. They hauled in 28 rebounds, picked up 21 points off turnovers, added four-second chance points and got 29 points from the bench.
Redlands remains at home for their next game, which is set for Monday, January 17 against Chapman University beginning at 7:00pm.
