The University of Redlands men's basketball team faced off against tough NAIA opponents, Concordia University – Irvine and Vanguard University, during the VU Thanksgiving Tournament over the weekend, but came up short in both contests.  The Bulldogs struggled early against the No. 1 Eagles of Concordia, who also put up timely three-pointers, leading to an 86-110 loss for the Maroon and Gray.  Against the host team, Redlands executed well in the second half to muster a valiant comeback but it was too late, as the Bulldogs fell by a score of 89-95.

Against Concordia, the Maroon and Gray put together a 44.6% effort from the floor but allowed the opponents to score at a clip of 56.9%.  In addition, the Eagles won the rebounding battle by a 42-36 margin.

The Bulldogs gained double-digit scoring from five players, with senior forward Josiah Brensdal (Kent, WA) leading the charge with 14 points.  Senior guard Tristan Kirk (Redlands, CA) and junior guard Matt Calhoun (Clackamas, OR) put up 13 points apiece, while junior guard Eric Radford (Federal Way, CA) and junior forward Alex Rudd (St. Louis, MO) chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Kirk pulled in a team-high eight rebounds to go along with six assists.

Concordia's Tim Harris led all players with 25 points, while Lucas Simpson came off the bench for a game-high 11 boards.

During the team's second outing of the weekend, Redlands improved its shooting to 58.7%, highlighted by a 40.9% effort from long range. 

However, Vanguard took advantage of opportunity by converting 20-of-28 free throws, compared to the Maroon and Gray's 6-for-10 showing at the line. 

The Lions slightly edged the Bulldogs on the boards, earning three more than the visiting team, but held a 16-to-9 margin on the offensive end.

Senior guard Brian Kuklok (Poway, CA) led the Redlands attack with 23 points, shooting 10-for-13 from the field and 3-for-5 from downtown.  He also dished out six assists and nabbed five rebounds.

Kirk went 7-for-10 overall for 14 points and distributed a team-high seven assists and grabbed seven boards.

Calhoun, Brensdal, and junior guard Ricky Peetz (Redlands, CA) provided 11 or more points apiece, with Peetz knocking down a trio of threes in the process.

Brensdal came up with a team-high nine rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Vanguard's Preston Wynne provided a stellar performance for the Lions, scoring 28 points, highlighted by six three-pointers, to go along with four assists and three rebounds.  Chris Gorman offered 20 pints, eight assists, five steals and four boards for another impressive showing.

Redlands (1-2) looks to get back on the winning track when it travels to Caltech on Wednesday for the conference opener against the Beavers at 7:30 p.m.