THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - For the seventh consecutive contest the Cal Lutheran men's basketball team left the gymnasium victorious. Tonight in the second Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) contest of the year, CLU defeated Redlands 71-56 inside of the Gilbert Arena.
After UR won the opening tip the Kingsmen scored the first five points on baskets from Coltrane Powdrill and Arik Smith. Though the Bulldogs got within a pair at 9-7, CLU used two more buckets to take a six point lead at 13-7 on a steal and fast break from Smith. While the visiting Maroon and Gray hung around, a three-point play from a jumper and free-throw converted by Powdrill and a 6-for-6 free-throw performance from Powdrill, Martin Flowers and Connor McGuire late in the periodaided in CLU in building a 12-point, 37-25 advantage at halftime.
In the first 20 minutes, the Kingsmen combined to shoot 50 percent from the field while Redlands knocked down just 37.9 percent of their shots. The Bulldogs, however, out-rebounded the home team 20-13 in the opening frame and hauled in eight offensive boards that they turned into 10 total points.
Out of the intermission, McGuire put in a basket from long range to start the scoring. The Kingsmen would lead for the remainder of regulation, despite Redlands pulling within seven at the 7:16 mark on a three-pointer from Aljosa Bjekovic. The Violet and Gold promptly swayed the momentum back in their favor when Smith responded with a layup through a foul and converted the free-throw to push the lead back to 55-46. On the ensuing possession McGuire mimicked that performance with an and-one of his own. The Kingsmen continued to control the pace of play until the final buzzer.
Shooting in the second half was just as hot for CLU as the team finished with a combined 53.2 shooting percentage after posting a 57.9 showing in the second half.
On a night when defense shined, Smith finished with five blocks to go along with a game-high 22 points. Powdrill notched three blocks and added 19 points with a team-high eight rebounds while McGuire rounded out the double figure scorers for CLU with 10 points, also grabbing six boards. Overall, CLU produced 10 blocks. Both Smith and Guy Lynott handed out four assists with Lynott adding a block as well after earning the start. Dan Wade finished with seven points on 3-for-5 shooting with a rebound and assist as a point guard in tonight's win.
Redlands (3-8, 0-2 SCIAC) was led by Bjekovic with 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds. He was the only Bulldogs player to reach double digit scoring.
Cal Lutheran (8-2, 2-0) will be on the road Saturday, Jan. 10 for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off at Pomona-Pitzer.
Box Score: CLU 71, UR 56
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