The University of Redlands men's basketball team stumbled to the Panthers of Chapman University in Wednesday's Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) road game, 69-74.  Despite outplaying the Panthers in nearly every statistical category, the Bulldogs missed out on 15 fewer free-throw opportunities en route to their first conference defeat of the campaign.

Due to a slow start Redlands trailed by an 8-15 tally after just six minutes of action.  Junior guard Eric Radford (Federal Way, WA) pulled the Bulldogs to within four points after a pair of jumpers, but Chapman responded by extending the lead back to six with 10:56 remaining in the first stanza.

The next few minutes saw senior guard Brian Kuklok (Poway, CA) drain back-to-back three-pointers, and once junior forward Alex Rudd (St. Louis, MO) hit a jumper at the 6:31-mark, the Maroon and Gray faced only a two-point deficit.

The teams traded baskets and free throws through the end of the stanza, but Redlands struggled to make up the difference, with the halftime score at 31-34.

At the half, Kuklok led the charge for Redlands with 10 points and six rebounds, while Radford chipped in seven points.  While only shooting 35.7% from the field, the Bulldogs connected on four of their nine attempts from downtown and all but one of their eight chances at the free-throw line.

With a well-rounded effort, the Maroon and Gray began the second half on a 6-2 run, nabbing its first lead of the contest at 37-36 after just two minutes. 

The Bulldogs continued to pour on the offensive pressure, as Rudd sank a shot from long distance at the 13:54 mark for Redlands' biggest lead of the game at 46-40.

However, the Panthers fought back and took a 54-51 lead with 9:40 remaining in regulation.

During the final nine minutes of the game, Chapman earned a number of free-throws and took advantage of these opportunities, making an eventual 31-of-37 from the line on the night.  Despite this reality, Rudd and junior guard Ricky Peetz (Redlands, CA) drained back-to-back shots, cutting the Panther lead to just one point with 2:18 left on the clock.

With 30 seconds left, it was Peetz again who knocked down a big-time shot for the Bulldogs, sinking a jumper to make it a 69-70 game.  After two made free-throws by Chapman, Redlands had the opportunity to tie the game, but a long-range effort missed the mark.  A pair of Panther free-throws with three seconds remaining ultimately sealed the tough loss for the U of R.

Rudd came off the bench to lead all Bulldog players with 15 points, going 6-for-13 from the field and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.  Additionally, senior forward Josiah Brensdal (Kent, WA) provided a balanced performance with 13 points, four boards, five assists and one block.  Kuklok rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points.

Overall, the Maroon and Gray shot 40.7% from the field as compared to just 38.0% for the Panthers.  Redlands also converted more attempts from long range, tallying a 37.5%-to-29.4% advantage in this category.  At the charity stripe, the Bulldogs shot an impressive 86.4% from the line, better than just 83.8% for the Panthers.  However, Chapman got to the charity stripe 15 more times than Redlands and made 12 more free throws, ultimately proving to be the difference. 

The U of R men's basketball team (11-5, 6-1 SCIAC) returns to the court next Wednesday, Jan 23, for a crucial conference match-up with the Kingsmen of Cal Lutheran University.  Tip-off in Currier Gym is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.