REDLANDS, CA - In a matchup of defending conference champions, Calvin defeated the University of Redlands 88-82 Saturday afternoon inside the Redlands Currier Gymnasium.

An NCAA III Tournament team a year ago and the defending champion of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Redlands had Calvin (8-2) on its heels throughout most of the first half with its frenetic offensive pace. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 28-18 lead but the Knights fought back with a 19-9 run to tie the game at 37. Calvin then grabbed a lead on three occasions late in the first half only to see Redlands sink a three-pointer to take a 45-44 halftime lead.

Redlands (4-6) connected on 10-of-18 attempts from three-point range in the first half for a blistering 55.6 percent clip. Calvin was not far behind however, hitting 8-of-16 from beyond the arc including four triples by sophomore Austin Parks.

In the second half, Parks continued his hot shooting with back-to-back three-pointers that capped off a 14-2 Calvin run that gave the Knights a 58-47 lead.

Calvin would later widen the advantage to 74-59 with eight minutes remaining but Redlands refused to quit, sinking five three-pointers down the stretch to claw back to within five at 84-79. Junior guard Jordan Brink and Parks were able to seal the win for Calvin with a series of free throws in the closing seconds.

Parks finished the game with a career-high 20 points off the bench as he was 6-of-10 from the floor including 6-of-9 from three-point range. Senior center Tyler Kruis also pumped in 20 points including 13 in the second half. Brink connected for 16 points and snared a career-high eight rebounds.  Senior Mickey DeVries added eight points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Redlands was led by Alex Rudd with 25 points off the bench while Ricky Peetz had 20.

After hitting 10-of-18 from three-point range in the first half, Redlands was just 6-of-21 in the second half, finishing with a final total of 16-of-39 (.410). Calvin held a 46-39 rebounding advantage and was 14-of-22 at the free throw line while Redlands was 10-of-15 at the stripe.

Calvin returns to action on Monday night when it travels to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps for a game slated to start at 10 p.m. (EST).