While utilizing all 15 players and never trailing, the University of Redlands men's basketball team cruised to an 89-52 victory over the visiting Beavers of Caltech on Wednesday in Currier Gym. After a 2-2 tie, the Bulldogs took control of the contest and never looked back en route to their 11th Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) win of the season.
By the 11:37-mark of the first half, the Bulldogs owned a 19-12 lead after senior Josiah Brensdal (Kent, WA) capped off his team's solid start with a three-pointer.
Following a Beaver bucket, the Maroon and Gray fired off 15-0 run to take a commanding lead with less than six minutes to go in the stanza. During this stretch, Redlands benefitted from a well-balanced scoring attack with seven different players converting a shot. Senior guard Brian Kuklok (Poway, CA) knocked down his second three-pointer of the game while junior forward Eric Radford (Federal Way, CA) also drained a long ball.
The Bulldogs closed out the half with a 48-18 advantage, as Radford and junior forward Alex Rudd (St. Louis, MO) combined for nine of the final 11 points.
During the second half, the Maroon and Gray sustained its lead while playing everyone on the roster. In addition, the squad maintained a solid shooting effort at 59.3% for the final 20 minutes.
Overall, Rudd led the offensive performance, culminating in 21 points on the night. Junior guard Matt Calhoun (Clackamas, OR) scored 15 points and Radford finished with 13.
In addition, junior forward Brandon Hrboka (San Pedro, CA) stepped up with six points in the second half. Junior guard Kendel Glapion (San Francisco, CA) and junior forward Ian Gordon (Bellevue, WA) each chipped in four points, while sophomore guard Marco Kengott (San Diego, CA) scored a bucket and dished out two assists.
As a team, Redlands shot a blistering 59% for the game, which included a 47.1% effort from downtown.
Caltech's sophomore guard Bryan Joel (Bethesda, MD) came off the bench to lead the Beavers with 14 points, while freshman guard KC Emezie (Waxhaw, NC), senior forward Michael Edwards (Canyon Country, CA), and sophomore guard Andrew Hogue (Arroyo Grande, CA) each chipped in 12 points.
The Bulldogs dominated the boards with a 46-to-33 advantage, with Calhoun pulling in a team-high seven rebounds.
Hogue grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for Caltech (1-21, 0-13 SCIAC).
Redlands (16-5, 11-1 SCIAC) welcomes the Tigers of Occidental College to Currier Gym on Saturday as part of a SCIAC basketball doubleheader. The men tip off at approximately 7 p.m., following the 5 p.m. women's game against the Tigers. In addition, fans are reminded that Saturday is FAN Appreciation Night, when the first 100 fans at each game will receive a free T-shirt.