LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Basketball team (15-9 7-8 SCIAC) took down Occidental College 85-69 thanks to a late 27-8 run in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Saturday afternoon. Despite the win the Bulldogs were eliminated from receiving a SCIAC Tournament berth as Chapman University won to secure the fourth seed.
The Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 7 in the West Region and have a chance due to their strength of schedule and five ranked victories to earn an At-Large bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships. Redlands will wait and see if their season will get extended next Sunday, February 25 during the NCAA Selection show.
Redlands got off to a great start in the first three minutes as Jhace Boston (Bakersfield, CA), Neil Owens (Pasadena, CA), and Robert Power (Pacific Palisades, CA) all knocked down triples for an early 9-3 advantage.
For the most part the Bulldogs were able to maintain a two possession or greater lead, but over the final 3:31 of the half they outscored the Tigers 9-2 as the U of R took a 47-35 lead into the break.
The second half is where things got interesting. Khyree Armstead (Mountlake Terrace, WA) got the scoring started with a layup but over the next nine minutes Occidental went on a 26-9 run going in front 61-58 with 10:03 to play.
At this point Redlands would only allow two points over the next three and a half minutes as they retook the lead and extended it to seven, 70-63. During the run Kendrick Currey (Manteca, CA) made a three and two free throws, Armstead went 2-for-2 at the line, Owens made another three, and Cameron Brown (Bakersfield, CA) punctuated the run with a dunk following a Currey steal.
Power then found Owens for another three-pointer with 3:56 left after Cameron Joseph (Fairfield, CA) earned a second chance opportunity. A minute later Owens put the game to bed with another three as the lead was 13, 78-65.
Overall, Owens scored 11 points over the final 3:56 finishing with 25 points (8-14 FG, 7-12 3FG, 2-2 FT) and four assists in 28 minutes. It's his second 20-point game in his last three and his third in the last eight.
Redlands will end their regular season next Tuesday, February 20 inside Currier Gym as they host Chapman at 7:00 p.m. Prior to tip-off the Bulldogs will honor their last senior Armstead.
