PASADENA, Calif. – The University of Redlands men's basketball team (16-3, 8-2) trailed after three minutes Wednesday evening in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), but they quickly turned it around for a dominate 104-52 win.
The Bulldogs were down as many as four before Nathaniel Johnson made a pair of baskets and Omari Ferguson assisted Chozen Amadi on a fastbreak layup for an 8-6 lead they would hold to for the remainder of the game.
Despite leading through the rest of the game, the Bulldogs had a battle in the first half, leading by only two, 17-15, after eight minutes. Evan Lucas, though, made a layup at the 11:31 mark that sparked a 17-0 run down to the 7:50 mark.
The lead was 34, 56-22, after threes by Jake Hlywiak and Amadi and a layup for Jhace Boston across the final 1:32. Kendrick Currey assisted two of the three baskets.
Only two minutes into the start of the second half the Bulldogs had already scored six unanswered points to extend their run from the first half to 13-0, and held a 40-point advantage, 62-22.
The first 50-point lead came with 13:22 to play after Lucas and Nathan Mattera combined for six points. Dayvon Gates and Christopher Carter got it as high as 57 after their own six-point stretch.
Amdi led the way with 14 points. Lucas and Hlywiak had 12 each. Ferguson and Currey added six assists while Gates and BJ Taylor had three each.
Redlands gets a bye this Saturday as they prepare to host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at home inside Currier Gym next Wednesday, February 5 at 7 p.m.