LOS ANGELES – The University of Redlands Men's Basketball team (19-4, 11-3 SCIAC) lost 86-82 at Occidental College Saturday afternoon as they were unable to overcome a 17-point deficit incurred in the first five minutes.
A Chozen Amadi (Richardson, TX) three off a Cam Brown (Bakersfield, CA) assist in the opening two minutes was the lone points for the U of R in more than five minutes as they conceded 20 points finding themselves down 17, 20-3.
The Bulldogs would be able chip into the lead, cutting it to single digits multiple times before a Derek Sangster (Sunnyvale, CA) three off an Austin Unegbu (Long Beach, CA) assist made it an eight-point game, 33-25, with 8:11 on the clock.
That three-pointer were the first points of a larger 19-10 run that got Redlands to within two, 43-41, in the final two minutes of the opening half. Sangster led the way with seven points, while Lucas Gordon (San Marcos, CA), Omari Ferguson (Chicago, Ill.), Nathan Mattera (Fontana, CA), and Jake Hlywiak (Valencia, CA) each had two. Amadi added a made three as well.
The Tigers extended the lead to six before Hlywiak got into the paint and made a jumper that ended the first half scoring taking the Bulldogs into the locker room down only four, 47-43, after a 40-27 run over the final 15 minutes.
After a massive struggle on both ends of the floor to begin the first half, Redlands flipped the script to begin the second. They scored 17 of the first 21 points and took their first lead at the 16:10 mark and held a nine-point advantage, 60-51, with 13:19 on the clock.
Despite a stretch of 22 minutes where the Bulldogs were plus 28 points after trailing by 17, the Tigers fought back scoring seven unanswered in response to cut the lead to two.
Unegbu, though, came down on the next UR possession and hit a three after Brown found him following an Occidental turnover.
The game remained at one or two possessions with the Bulldogs out in front until a Tiger three gave them the lead with 5:06 left.
Brown momentarily regained the lead for :20 seconds before Occidental took it back with a jumper. That basket would be the last lead change as the Tigers led for the final 4:31.
Amadi and Sangster combined for 33 points and made eight (out of 16) of the Bulldogs 12 three-pointers, while the rest of the team went 4-of-17. Gordon was an efficient 6-of-9 for 12 points and he added seven rebounds.
The Bulldogs will be on the road at No. 18 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) next Wednesday, February 18 at 7:00 p.m. in a huge road showdown with playoff implications on the line and potentially a SCIAC Regular Season Championship Title.
