The Caltech men's basketball team, fighting for its first SCIAC win this season, rallied in Redlands on Wednesday night, but eventually ended just short, 78-64. Redlands shot 48 percent from the field in the first half and jumped out to a 10-point lead, 21-11, with 6:16 on the clock. Caltech sophomore Ryan Elmquist then nailed a 3-pointer, registered a block, grabbed a rebound, and hit a free throw to make the score 21-15. However, the Bulldogs capitalized on three 3-pointers of their own in the final three minutes, and used a 15-4 run to take a 17-point cushion into halftime.

Redlands scored four straight to open the second stanza, 40-19, but Caltech refused to go away. The visitors used a 13-3 spurt, fueled by four more points from Elmquist, two 3's by Matt Dellatorre and Wei Li, a shot by Travis Haussler, and a drawn charge by Han Bin Man to climb to within 11, 43-32. After a home team timeout and conversion, Caltech pulled to within 11 two more times midway through the half.

The Bulldogs then capitalized on five Beaver turnovers to put together a 13-4 blitz of their own to make it 60-40 with 7:32 remaining. Caltech continued to claw, and thanks to two Haussler free throws (the second of which became his 1,000 collegiate point) and a couple of jumpers courtesy of Dellatorre, the visitors were back to within 14, 61-47 at the 5:33 mark.

Caltech miscues allowed Redlands to extend the margin to 20, 69-49, with 2:27 left - yet a late rally by the Beavers allowed them to pull within 11 again. Haussler ignited the charge with a ferocious blocked shot - one where he actually caught the ball - and a jumper of his own, while Li capped the late run with two steals and an exciting 4-point play after being fouled on a shot from the behind the arc. Redlands, however, made six of seven foul shots to seal the win.

Although Caltech did not claim the lead, it scored a season high 45 points in the second half thanks to a 56 percent clip from the field (15 of 27) and an 85 percent display (11 of 13) from the free throw line. The Beavers hit four deep balls in each half while holding the Bulldogs zero for eight from 3-point range in the second 20 minutes.

For Caltech, Elmquist scored 20 and added three blocks. Dellatorre turned in his best performance this season with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and only two turnovers in 38 minutes of action. Haussler scored 12 and grabbed five boards during his historical night, one that gave him 1,004 points for his career.