Box Score UC Santa Cruz opened a two-game homestand at the West Field House with a 98-82 loss to Redlands on Thursday afternoon. UC Santa Cruz goes to 7-8 on the season.

The game promised to be a fast-paced encounter and it started that way. Zino Okah had a pair of three-pointers sandwiched around Ian McCloskey's basket to give the Banana Slugs an early 8-6 lead in the opening three minutes.  The game stayed close, and the Banana Slugs were still up 16-15 before Redlands took a 26-20 lead with 9:49 remaining in the half that eventually became a 53-44 halftime lead for the visitors.

The Banana Slugs stayed within striking distance in the second half trying to regain the lead. Treyson Keating's putback layup with 5:52 left kept UC Santa Cruz within six at 80-74. After Redlands answered with a three, Caden Breznikar completed a classic three-point play to make it 83-77 with 4:00 left. Breznikar then got a steal ten seconds later and went coast-to-coast to make it 83-79. However, UC Santa Cruz was unable to get closer as time ran down. The Bulldogs earned the win by going eight-for-eight on free-throws in the last two minutes.
 
Okah led UC Santa Cruz in scoring for the second consecutive game posting an impressive 20 points. He was backed with impressive performances from multiple teammates including Joseph Espy who scored 14 points coming off of the bench,  McCloskey scoring 10 more, and Keating having a team-high 11 rebounds, along  with eight points and two blocks. Breznikar had 14 points and five steals, both career-highs. 
Free-throws were the difference in the game, as Redlands was 32-36 (88.9%) from the line overall while UC Santa Cruz was 17-27 (63%).
The Banana Slugs close out the calendar year taking on 18th-ranked Williams College on Saturday.