During the 2012-13 campaign, the University of Redlands men's basketball program accomplished several goals and milestones en route to an outstanding 22-6 overall performance. This historical season was preceded by Redlands' 6-0 effort in its summer excursion in Ireland, setting the stage for the phenomenal year. The Bulldogs' run was highlighted by their second Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) regular-season championship in three years, the third 20-plus win season in program history, an 11-game winning streak, and a First-Round appearance at the NCAA Championships.
In the squad's first official action of the year, senior guard Tristan Kirk(Redlands, CA) scored a season-high 24 points and sank two free throws with four seconds remaining in regulation to lead the Bulldogs to a win over NAIA opponent, San Diego Christian College. In a back-and-forth contest, the exciting victory served as an early indicator of what was on the horizon for the U of R.
After gaining experience against more top-notch NAIA competition, the Bulldogs opened up their SCIAC season with three-consecutive triumphs, including an 81-72 win over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. Against the always competitive Sagehens, Redlands pulled away early and never looked back while draining 13 three-pointers on the night.
The U of R then hosted the 65th Annual Lee Fulmer Memorial Tournament in early December, defeating two non-conference opponents, UC Santa Cruz and Pacifica, by a combined 42 points to capture the tournament title. Against Pacifica, every player on the squad contributed at least four points en route to the team's season-high output of 119 points.
Before a break from action during the holidays, Redlands took on a couple of Northwest Conference opponents at the Chapman University Tournament. The Bulldogs opened the event by topping Willamette University (OR) in overtime, 91-86, before coming up short against then-11th-ranked Whitworth University (WA) on day two of the tournament.
After a 10-day layoff from competition, the Maroon and Gray came back prepared to surge toward a strong second half of its season. Despite splitting a pair of contests against non-conference opposition, the U of R began the 2013 calendar year with a bang, topping the Poets of Whittier College in a 93-79 decision. Propelled by junior forward Alex Rudd's (St. Louis, MO) 24 points off the bench, which included six three-pointers, the Bulldogs erased a halftime deficit and came from behind to secure the important SCIAC victory.
Senior guard Brian Kuklok (Poway, CA) led the way with 19 points in a midweek win over the University of La Verne to set up the Maroon and Gray's showdown with conference rival, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. In a battle of the unbeatens, Redlands broke a halftime tie with lights-out shooting and poised defense to prevail over the rival Stags in front of a noisy crowd. The Bulldogs looked to senior forward Josiah Brensdal(Kent, WA) to provide a huge effort with 18 points and 10 rebounds on the way to an exciting 86-80 triumph.
Although Redlands stumbled on the road to Chapman University the following week in a tight, one-possession game, the squad quickly recovered by defeating Cal Lutheran University, 67-55, to initiate what would be the longest winning streak of the year.
Rudd continued to impress and upped his career-high point-total in a game to 25 when he led the Bulldogs to an exciting 95-86 overtime road-victory at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.
The winning ways kept on coming for the Maroon and Gray, as Redlands rattled off four straight conference wins before getting a chance to make amends for its only SCIAC loss of the season. During Senior Night in Currier Gym, Kirk capped off his stellar career with the U of R by eclipsing the 1000-point mark en route to leading the Bulldogs to an emphatic 75-56 triumph over Chapman. The win was also crucial as it kept Redlands in first place in the conference standings with only two regular-season contests remaining.
Just two days later, the Bulldogs captured another milestone when they made the trek to Thousand Oaks and captured the program's first road-win over Cal Lutheran since January 15, 1983. The victory also meant that Redlands had clinched at least a share of the 2013 regular-season conference championship.
If the Bulldogs wanted to claim the SCIAC title outright, they needed to defeat CMS on the road in the final regular-season contest. Thanks to a 47-point second stanza and hot shooting off the bench from junior guard Ricky Peetz (Redlands, CA), Redlands was triumphant in a 76-64 performance and clinched the memorable title at Ducey Gymnasium.
Seeded No. 1 in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament, the Bulldogs welcomed the No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens to Currier Gym for the first round. Behind 21 points from Brensdal, 18 points from Rudd, and a 13-point effort from Kuklok, the Maroon and Gray cruised past Pomona-Pitzer, 88-68, to advance to the tournament final.
In a familiar match-up of conference foes, the tournament championship game pitted Redlands against CMS for a third time on the campaign. Bulldog junior forward Eric Radford (Federal Way, WA) opened the game on fire, nailing back-to-back three-pointers. It was a back-and-forth first stanza, with the Bulldogs holding the narrow lead at the break. Despite a late run in the second half by CMS, Bulldog junior guard Matt Calhoun(Clackamas, OR) kept the Stags at bay down the stretch by sinking four clutch free-throws and playing turnover-free basketball. Senior forwardSteven Williams (Ventura, CA) also knocked down a pair of critical free-throws late in the game after teammate Kirk left the game on a hard foul. In a closer-than-it-looks victory, Redlands prevailed by a score of 73-64 to capture the 2013 SCIAC Postseason Tournament championship and punch its ticket to the NCAA Division III Championships.
As the automatic qualifier from the SCIAC, the Bulldogs drew the Northwest Conference regular-season and postseason champions, Whitworth University (WA), in the First Round of the NCAA Championships. Despite having fallen to the Pirates earlier in the season, the Maroon and Gray entered the game full of confidence while riding an 11-game winning streak.
After traveling to Spokane, WA, the Bulldogs played a fantastic first 20 minutes and headed into the locker room with a six-point halftime lead. Redlands led by as many as 10 points midway through the second stanza, but a cold shooting-spell and a few late turnovers eventually sunk the Bulldogs, resulting in the final score of 69-75.
While the season ended on the disappointing defeat, there were many achievements, milestones, and awards that illustrated the success of the campaign. Head Coach Jim Ducey guided the Bulldogs to their first 20-win season since 1961 and the third campaign in program history with 20 or more wins. Coach Ducey now joins the company of Lee Fulmer, who twice accomplished this feat in his career.
After capturing its second SCIAC Postseason Tournament and regular-season titles in three years, Redlands raked in the All-Conference awards. Brensdal highlighted the trio of honorees, garnering the SCIAC Player of the Year award. Averaging 14.5 points per game to go along with 7.5 rebounds and 0.9 blocks during the conference regular season, he proved to be a big reason why the team performed as well as it did. Furthermore, Kirk and Rudd both landed on the All-SCIAC First Team for their spectacular efforts throughout the course of the conference campaign. After every all-conference vote was tallied, Redlands was the only school with multiple First-Team honorees.
Additionally, Brensdal garnered National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III First-Team All-West Region and D3hoops.com All-West Region Third-Team accolades. After being named the team's MVP, Kirk was honored by Redlands during commencement weekend as the Frank Serrao Senior Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
In addition, the Bulldogs left their mark on the records book, with Rudd taking over the top spot for three-point field goal percentage in a single season with his 47.9% effort during the campaign. Additionally, Kuklok moved into fourth-place all-time in program history for free-throw percentage, accumulating an 84.7% career mark from the charity stripe.
Despite losing four seniors from this year's championship squad, Redlands looks forward to returning three starters and a strong core off the bench. Filled with talent and depth all throughout the veterans, next year's squad is sure to be as high-octane and as exciting to watch as always. With Coach Ducey at the helm, the team sits poised for additional success while complementing the history and traditions that are Bulldog men's basketball.