Sasich Has Double-Double in Win over UR
Gyan Alexander awaits a pass from a teammate at Rush Gymnasium. (Photo: Tracy Maple)
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Jan. 19, 2008) – Occidental used 54 first half points and a double-double by senior Joe Sasich to defeat the University of Redlands Bulldogs 88-72 at Rush Gymnasium in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play tonight.
The Tigers controlled the tempo of the game from the get-go, jumping out to a 15-2 lead over the first four and a half minutes of action. Sasich layed one in at the 15:46 minute mark, giving the Tigers a double figure lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
Oxy’s senior guard Connor Whitman connected for seven three-pointers en route to a game-high 23 points. Also joining Sasich and Whitman with double digit scoring was sophomore transfer Sean Anderson who added 11.
In his first start of the season Gyan Alexander recorded a game-high seven assists and four steals while adding seven points. Gemayal McBride tallied six assists. In six minutes of action David Ostrow dished out three assists. Huston Conti,Whitman, Sasich and Anderson each had a pair of assists as well.
Overall the Tigers shot 52.4 % from the field, hitting nine of 16 three-pointers while Redlands finished shooting 46.8 % from the field and 74.1 % from the line.
Occidental grabbed 43 rebounds, while Redlands finished with just 23. Twenty-one of the Tigers’ boards were on the offensive end of the court, leading to 19 second chance points. Whitman and Clark Gordon each pulled down five rebounds.
Each team turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 21 Bulldogs points and 18 Tigers points.
Twelve different Oxy players scored in the game with the bench contributing 35 of the 88 points.
Looking at the box score, some may question the score after years of Redlands playing a run-and-gun style of basketball. A head coach meant a new approach for Bulldogs’ basketball.
UR’s leading scorer was Daniel Markus with 16 and Travis Miller led the Bulldogs with five boards.
Occidental improves to 12-2, 3-1 in SCIAC while Redlands falls to 6-8, 2-1.
The Tigers will travel to Voelkel Gymnasium at Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. to continue SCIAC competition.
