The University of Redlands men's basketball team traveled to Thousand Oaks on Saturday for an important Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) match-up against Cal Lutheran University but came away with a difficult 64-72 loss to the Kingsmen. After cutting a late 15-point deficit to three, the Bulldog offense struggled to convert its final opportunities while CLU was nearly perfect from the line, resulting in Redlands' third conference loss of the season.

Redlands garnered an early five-point advantage when senior guard Kent Ervin (Bend, OR) drove the hole for a bucket with 13:26 left in the opening stanza.

A tight battle continued until Cal Lutheran uncorked a 13-3 run that turned a one-point lead into an 11-point advantage at the break.

The Kingsmen remained in control, earning a 57-42 advantage when Jeremy Sulker-Hall hit a lay-up with 9:51 to play.

However, back-to-back baskets by senior center Jordan Sanvictores (Redwood City, CA) and two made free-throws by senior guard Patrick Keating (Fountain Hills, AZ) gave Redlands new life with a single-digit deficit at the eight-minute mark.

The Bulldogs clawed their way back, making it a five-point game with a Keating lay-up at 3:20.

With time running out, Redlands eventually cut it to three when senior center Andrew Mills (Newcastle, WA) knocked down a three-pointer with 34 seconds left in the game.

Forced to foul, the Maroon and Gray sent the Kingsmen to the line, but CLU converted five of its six opportunities in the final seconds, leading to the eight-point loss for the Bulldogs.

Sanvictores led the Redlands scorers with 18 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Tristan Kirk (Redlands, CA) added 13 points and five boards.

CLU boasted four players in double figures with Greg Grimm leading the effort with 25 points. Aaron van Klaveren pulled down an amazing 20 rebounds while chipping in 14 points.

The Bulldogs shot only 36.5% from the field, as the Kingsmen performed at a 51.0% clip. CLU hit one more three-pointer than Redlands, but also knocked in 17 of its 25 free-throws, compared to a 12-for-19 showing by the Bulldogs.

With Saturday's loss, Redlands (11-11, 8-3 SCIAC) falls out of the lead in the SCIAC and sits one game ahead of the University of La Verne in a very close race. The Bulldogs take on first-place Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Currier Gym.