The University of Redlands men's basketball team broke an early nine-all tie and stayed ahead through the final buzzer en route to a 73-57 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) victory over the Poets of Whittier College. With the win, the Bulldogs remain in a tie at the top of the conference standings with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, which pushed past Cal Lutheran University in tonight's contest. After losing to Occidental College, the University of La Verne fell out of first place and now solely owns third.
Against the Poets, senior center Andrew Mills (Newcastle, WA) knocked in a three-pointer to give a slight edge to the Maroon and Gray with 15:39 to play in the opening period.
Less than seven minutes later, sophomore guard Tristan Kirk (Redlands, CA) hit one of his three shots from long range, creating a six-point advantage for Redlands.
Although the Poets responded with consecutive jumpers to cut it to two, the Bulldogs gained another long ball from Kirk, which propelled the Maroon and Gray to a 36-28 halftime lead.
Redlands opened the second stanza with a 10-2 run, creating a solid lead that sufficed through the final play of the game.
Whittier managed to close within seven at the nine-minute mark, but solid shooting by the Bulldogs kept them in the driver's seat through the final whistle.
Redlands hit 50% of its shots, compared to a 36.1% showing by the Poets. The Bulldogs also converted seven three-pointers, while Whittier only sank one. In addition, the Maroon and Gray posted a 14-for-20 performance from the charity stripe as the Poets made less than half of their attempts.
Kirk finished with a game-high 16 points, going 6-for-8 overall. He also dished out three assists and nabbed two steals for the Bulldogs. Senior center Jordan Sanvictores (Redwood City, CA) chipped in 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, while Mills added 11 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Patrick Keating (Fountain Hills, AZ) distributed six assists.
Whittier's Greg Preer provided a solid effort with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Paul Davis contributed 10 points, as Jordan Ramos came up with six steals for the Poets.
Redlands (11-10, 8-2 SCIAC) heads to Cal Lutheran on Saturday to compete in a SCIAC doubleheader with the women, beginning at 5 p.m. The Bulldog men follow the women's game and tip off against the Kingsmen at approximately 7 p.m. Fans may follow the action via live web streaming at http://www.callutheran.edu/clutube/.