U of R Men's Basketball teams falls in second found of NCAA Div. III tourney

The University of Redlands men’s basketball team saw its 2025-26 pursuit of an NCAA Division III title end in the second round with a 114-104 loss to Hood College on its home court Saturday (March 7) in Frederick, Maryland.

The reigning Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Association champions won their NCAA opener on Friday (March 6), defeating Susquehanna University of Pennsylvania 96-71.

The Bulldogs finish the season at 24-5 (13-3 SCIAC). The senior-laden team has won 49 games and lost only 10 over the past two seasons.

The core of the Redlands team – three seniors and a graduate student – played the final games of their collegiate careers.

Senior guard Omari Ferguson led the Bulldogs in the loss to Hood with 26 points, three assists and two steals, hitting 11 of 18 shots from the field. Senior forward Lucas Gordon closed out his collegiate career with 18 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Senior Jake Hlywiak had 15 points, all on three-pointers. Graduate student Chozen Amadi had 12 points in his final game.

The Bulldogs attempted 48 three-pointers and made 14 (30 percent).

U of R shot 40 percent from the field while Hood College made 58 percent of its shots to improve to 26-3 after a 13-1 MAC Commonwealth Conference title run.

The Bulldogs trailed by three, 56-53, at the half and fell behind 74-60 with 15 minutes left in the game. 

Redlands coach Eric Bridgeland will be recruiting replacements for his departing players. The top returning player will be Jhace Boston, a 6-foot-5 junior who scored 14 points, collected eight rebounds and dished off a team-high six assists to go with three blocked shots in the loss to Hood.

Gordon concluded his Bulldogs career ranked No. 7 in career blocked shots and became only the third player in program history to record over 700 career rebounds.