On the heels of senior center Jordan Sanvictores' (Redwood City, CA) career-high 27 points, the University of Redlands men's basketball team captured an exciting 83-66 victory over the visiting Poets of Whittier College in tonight's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) bout in Currier Gym. Amidst a raucous crowd and a packed house, the Bulldogs posted a 48.4% field-goal performance to go along with an 82.6% showing at the free-throw line en route to their fourth conference victory of the season.

Down by eight with 13:09 to go in the opening period, Redlands answered with eight straight points to quickly tie it up just three minutes later.

A back-and-forth battle ensued with Redlands finally grabbing its first lead of the night at 28-27 with 2:53 left on the clock.

Two layups by sophomore guard Tristan Kirk (Redlands, CA) and a made basket by senior forward Matt Dietrich (Phoenix, AZ) led to a four-point advantage at the break for the Maroon and Gray.

From here, the Bulldogs never trailed, harnessing the lead and refusing to let go. Although Whittier cut it to three at the 10-minute mark, Redlands maintained control and eventually created a double-figure advantage, which it held for the remainder of the game.

While both teams shot 50% in the second half, Redlands won the battle at the charity stripe, sinking 15 of its 18 attempts. The Poets shot just 53.3% from the line on an 8-for-15 performance.

Sanvictores led all scorers with 27, which came off of 13-for-16 shooting. He also nabbed nine rebounds, including four on the offensive end. Kirk, senior center Andrew Mills (Newcastle, WA) and senior guard Stephen Call (Portola Valley, CA) backed Sanvictores with 10 apiece, highlighted by two baskets from long range by Call. Kirk also added five rebounds and six assists.

The Bulldogs also took advantage of opportunity by converting 20 points off of Whittier's 20 turnovers to go along with 16 second-chance points.

Whittier (7-9, 2-3 SCIAC) gained double digits from three players, with sophomore guard Paul Davis (Inglewood, CA) coming off the bench for a team-high 16 points, while senior guard Ricky Kamayatsu (Whittier, CA) and senior forward Damon Perry (Los Angeles, CA) each chipped in 15. Perry also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Bulldogs (7-9, 4-1 SCIAC) take to the road for their next two SCIAC contests, facing Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Wednesday, January 26, followed by a showdown with undefeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday, Jan. 29.