LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Basketball team (15-3, 7-2 SCIAC) proved a tough task for Occidental College Saturday afternoon never trailing and overcoming a late second half run by the Tigers in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action as they took home their fourth-straight win, 87-75.
The first six points of the game were scored by the Bulldogs thanks to a three by Jake Hlywiak (Valencia, CA) and an and-one by Omari Ferguson (Chicago, Ill.).
The lead then grew to nine at the 12:03 mark after Donovan Ware (Palmdale, CA) and Ferguson combined for four quick points giving UR a 20-11 lead.
Two minutes later, though, the Tigers came right back with a 10-2 run that pulled them within one. But that's as close as OXY got the rest of the half as the Bulldogs took a 44-35 lead into the half after seven straight by Nathan Mattera (Fontana, CA), Ferguson, and Lucas Gordon (San Marcos, CA).
Occidental put together another run to begin the second half that got them within one, 48-47, after they scored 10 of the first 13 points.
This time the Bulldogs did not have an immediate run that allowed them to take control of the game, instead the Tigers were able to tie the game at 57-57 with 12:18 left. It was the first tie since the opening minutes of the game.
The deadlock though woke up the Bulldog offense as Dayvon Gates (Carson, CA) and Chozen Amadi (Dallas, TX) both got into the paint with buckets and Jhace Boston (Bakersfield, CA) drew a foul that put UR up two possessions, 62-57.
Then, over the course of :14 seconds, Mattera got out on a fastbreak for a layup and Amadi converted twice at the line for a double-digit lead, 74-64, an advantage the Maroon and Grey would hold the remainder of the game.
Ferguson missed a double-double by a rebound with 19 points and nine rebounds. Gordon (16), Gates (10), and Kendrick Currey (Manteca, CA) (10) joined him in double figures.
Redlands wraps-up their three-game road trip next Wednesday, January 29 at 7:00 p.m. when they head to Pasadena for a match-up against Caltech.
