SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Water Polo team (0-4) finished the Triton Invitational with all four games coming against Division I teams, three of which were nationally ranked. In the morning on Sunday, the U of R nearly knocked off Bucknell University, who was receiving votes for the Top-25, but ultimately lost 14-11. Then in the afternoon the Bulldogs lost 17-5 to No. 10 Long Beach State (LBSU).

Game 1 (RV Bucknell University; L, 14-11)

The Bulldogs were within a goal, 5-4, at the 2:12 mark of the first quarter when Ron Gvishi (Kiryat Tivon, Israel) scored. The previous three connections came from Spencer Clinton (Cypress, CA) and Dean Moody (Camarillo, CA).

With time ticking off the clock before the end of the first Moody completed the first half hat-trick as he brought the Bulldogs within two, 7-5.

The Bison scored the opener of the second quarter and held the Bulldogs scoreless for more than four minutes before Jack Ryan (Ventura, CA), Gvishi, and Moody sparked a 3-1 run that made it a one-goal game after 16 minutes.

It was a slow third in which Harrison DeCourcy (Alameda, CA) was the lone scorer as Redlands went into the final eight minutes needing three goals to tie.

The first five minutes were dominated by Bucknell as they scored twice growing their lead to five, 14-9, with only 3:23 left to play.

Redlands, though, fought back with a goal from Brody Nielsen (Capitola, CA) at the 2:19 mark to pull within four. The comeback would fall short as Kalani Nelson (Torrance, CA) got a consolation goal in the final nine seconds.

Game 2 (Long Beach State; L, 17-5)

Despite the perceived mismatch against the higher division opponent ranked inside the Top-10, Redlands trailed by only two after the first quarter thanks to tallies from Max Wagener (Piedmont, CA) and Gvishi.

LBSU was able to pull away in the second when they outscored Redlands 7-1. The lone Bulldog goal came from Adam Lambert (St. Louis, MO).

After an offensive second, the U of R clamped down defensively as they allowed only two goals.  But they were unable to cut into the deficit as they failed to find the back of the net.

In the fourth Liam Gore (Glendora, CA) and Moody finished off goals four and five.

The Bulldogs will now prepare for the Inland Empire Classic this weekend, Saturday-Sunday, September 14-15 as they host Ottawa University (AZ), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UC Santa Barbara and Fresno Pacific University.