HOME OF BULLDOG MEN'S BASKETBALL - 18 SCIAC Championships

Bulldog Men's Basketball Succumbs to Elmhurst, 87-94

The University of Redlands men’s basketball team came up on the losing end of a 94-87 decision to visiting Elmhurst College (IL) in today’s non-conference game. Despite significantly improving their free-throw shooting from yesterday, the Bulldogs struggled against a 65.5% second-half shooting performance by the Blue Jays.

Redlands took an 11-point lead midway through the opening period but Elmhurst tied it up at 25 when sophomore guard Mike McCurdy (St. Charles, IL) sank a jump shot with just over eight minutes to go.

The tables turned on the Bulldogs as Elmhurst went on a 12-5 run to go up 37-30 with 4:20 left in the half.

A back-and-forth battle ensued until the Maroon and Gray finally gained a one-point lead with nine seconds to go when freshman guard Brian Kuklok (Poway, CA) hit both of his free-throws.

During the second half, the Blue Jays’ offense poured it on with impressive shooting, earning a 72-62 advantage with 9:27 remaining in the game.

However, Redlands cut that lead to one at 74-75 when junior forward Matt Dietrich (Phoenix, AZ) made a lay-up and the free-throw for the three-point play.

Following two made free-throws by senior guard Pat Coffey (San Carlos, CA), the Bulldogs trailed by five but then senior guard Andrew Maertens (Salt Lake City, UT) hit an important three-pointer to cut the lead to two with just over a minute to play.

However, a foul called against the Bulldogs, which resulted in two made free-throws by the Blue Jays, made it a four-point game. Then, a costly Redlands turnover on the ensuing play halted any come-back efforts by the Maroon and Gray.

Forced to foul in the final 23 seconds, the Bulldogs settled for the 87-94 loss to Elmhurst (2-2), who nailed 13 of 15 shots from the charity stripe in the second half.

The Bulldogs gained 17 points from Coffey, while junior guard Justin Sobczyk (Palm Desert, CA) came up with 13 and junior center Andrew Mills (Bellevue, WA) added 12.

Senior guard Dustin Bainter (Macomb, IL) contributed a game-high 26 points for the Blue Jays. Junior forward Aaron Schroeder (Normal, IL) and sophomore guard Zack Boyd (Decatur, IL) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 16 and 15, respectively. McCurdy dished out a game-leading five assists.

Redlands looks to stop its two-game skid when it opens the 62nd Annual Lee Fulmer Memorial Men’s Basketball Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m. against West Coast Baptist College.