Amidst multiple celebrations, the University of Redlands men's basketball team captured a solid 75-56 victory over Chapman University on Monday, securing the program's first win over the Panthers since November 30, 2007.  The Bulldogs started the memorable night by honoring its four seniors prior to the game, as Tristan Kirk (Redlands, CA), Josiah Brensdal (Kent, WA), Brian Kuklok (Poway, CA) and Steven Williams (Ventura, CA) competed on Gary Smith Court for the final time of the regular season.  Furthermore, Kirk brought the Currier faithful to its feet when he knocked down his 1000th career point with 3:38 to go in the game.

The Bulldogs broke open an early two-all tie with consecutive three-pointers by junior forward/guard Eric Radford (Federal Way, WA), Brensdal, and junior forward Alex Rudd (St. Louis, MO). 

While facing a five-point deficit, Chapman responded with back-to-back baskets of its own to make it a 10-11 game with 13:55 remaining in the stanza.

The teams traded punches over the next few minutes until the Panthers evened the count at 17 on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jordan Young (Monterey Park, CA).

However, this was the final knotted score of the contest, as Redlands inched away to make it 33-24 at the break.  Junior guard Matt Calhoun (Clackamas, OR) led the charge for the Maroon and Gray, scoring his team's final eight points of the half.

During the first 20 minutes, the Bulldogs shot 44.8%, compared to Chapman's 38.5% effort.  In addition, Redlands hit three shots from downtown, while the Panthers went 1-for-9 in the opening stanza.

Nonetheless, Chapman came out firing in the second half, quickly scoring three baskets to make it a three-point game at 30-33. 

After a 30-second timeout, the Maroon and Gray responded with a 7-0 run, as Kuklok capped off the spurt with a three-pointer. 

Leading 41-37 with 15 minutes to go, the Bulldogs blew it open by unleashing a barrage of three-pointers.  Junior guard Ricky Peetz (Redlands, CA) knocked down four baskets from beyond the arc in a five-minute span.  One of these long-range shots came after big offensive boards from his teammates, Calhoun and Brensdal.  

In addition, Radford and Rudd both nailed shots from three-point land, helping the Maroon and Gray to earn a 66-44 advantage with 6:31 left in the game.

Redlands controlled the pace of play down the stretch, extending its lead to as many as 23 points.

At the 3:38-mark, Kirk added to the excitement of the night when he pulled up and sank a fade-away jumper to eclipse the 1000-point milestone as a Bulldog.  He later nailed a three-pointer, bringing his career total to 1004 points with two games to play in the regular season.

Beyond Kirk's 11 points for the game, the Maroon and Gray gained game-highs of 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists from Brensdal.  Calhoun and Peetz both finished with 12 points.

Chapman was led by sophomore forward Justin Young's (Monterey Park, CA) 14 points, while sophomore guard Taylor Hamasaki (Mission Viejo, CA) and sophomore guard Colin Zavrsnick (Lake Forest, CA) chipped in 10 apiece. 

As a team, the Bulldogs knocked down an impressive 53.8% of their shots, following their 60.7% effort against Occidental College on Saturday.  Furthermore, the squad converted 61.1% of its three-pointers on the night, going 11-for-18 overall and 8-for-10 in the second stanza.

Redlands avenges their only SCIAC loss of the season with tonight's win over the Penthers.

Chapman (11-12, 6-8 SCIAC) finished with a 43.8% showing overall and a 17.6% display from long range.

The Bulldogs (18-5, 13-1 SCIAC) remain in first place among the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and travel to Cal Lutheran University on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with the Kingsmen.  Video streaming is scheduled to be available at http://clusports.com/video/.