The University of Redlands men's basketball team headed to Caltech to face the Beavers in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) contest on Saturday evening. Although the Bulldogs earned better three-point and field-goal shooting percentages, the Beavers got hot late and took advantage of second-chance points to send the Maroon and Gray home with a 72-78 loss.

Sophomore guard Hass Berry (Riverside, CA) kicked off the game with a huge three-pointer to put the Bulldogs on the board first. However, the Beavers subsequently went on a 12-0 run to put Redlands in a nine-point hole by the 13:44-mark of the first half.

Less than a minute later, senior guard Kyle Hamane (Pasadena, CA) swiped a steal and hauled in an offensive rebound before quickly dishing it out to first-year forward Jordan Holden (Anaheim, CA), who hit a shot from downtown to close the gap to 8-12.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Caltech's three-point shots kept falling, putting Redlands in another 10-point hole. Sophomore forward David Menary (Grass Valley, CA), Berry, and junior guard Joey Sponheim (Redlands, CA) combined for the next 10 points to pull within three at 18-21 with 7:35 to go in the first half.

After another Berry trey-ball, senior guard Kyle Husslein (Tamuning, Guam) made his presence known by making two lay-ups, dishing out an assist, sinking a free throw, and hauling in an offensive board in just a minute and a half. His second lay-up gave Redlands its first lead of the night at 26-25 with 5:30 remaining.

As both teams struggled offensively late in the half, Sponheim completed the and-one play to keep the Bulldogs' slight lead. He also converted his next lay-up to make the score 31-27 with three minutes left on the clock.

Although Caltech made another shot from downtown for the final points of the half, sophomore guard Brittian Foster (Long Beach, CA) put up two blocks in 10 seconds to keep the Beavers from scoring another before the break.

Menary and Berry combined for the first six points of the second half to give the Bulldogs what would be their largest lead of the night at 38-33 with 17 minutes left to play.

Unfortunately for the visiting team, Caltech went on a 17-1 run that put the Beavers ahead 50-39 at the 13:19-mark.

Redlands then scored three-straight buckets, as Sponheim drained a shot from downtown, Menary converted a lay-up, and Berry bookended the spurt with yet another three-pointer. Berry still wasn't done from beyond the arc and sank a three-point jumper just two minutes later to pull his team within one at 57-58.

However, Caltech's shots just kept falling and furthered the spread with time running out. Redlands attempted a comeback with a lay-up from Husslein and successful free throws from Menary and Sponehim, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit before the final buzzer.

Berry led the team with 21 points and seven rebounds. Menary and Sponheim followed close behind by scoring 19 and 15 points, respectively.

Redlands (6-17, 4-10) looks to turn its luck around on Saturday, February 17, when it faces Cal Lutheran University. The Bulldogs will honor their three seniors before the 5 p.m. tipoff.