The University of Redlands men's basketball team hosted the Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Saturday afternoon for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) game in Currier Gym. The Bulldogs kept it close for most of the first half, but a runaway second half for the Sagehens left the Bulldogs with 63-91 loss.
After Pomona-Pitzer started the game with five quick points, the home team got on the board with a jumper from sophomore guard Brittian Foster (Long Beach, CA). With the defense forcing two turnovers and a couple of misses for the Sagehens, sophomore David Menary (Grass Valley, CA) scored four-consecutive points for the Bulldogs' first lead of the game at 6-5.
Just a few minutes later, Menary drained his second three-pointer early in the first half to cap off a 9-2 Redlands run for the Bulldogs' largest lead of the night at 15-7 with 15:29 remaining.
Pomona-Pitzer rallied together a 13-4 run to regain the lead with 7:52 remaining in the first half. A huge block and two made free throws by Menary quickly put the Bulldogs back in front.
After another lead-change that went in favor of the Sagehens, first-year forward Jorden Holden (Anaheim, CA) did his part from the line by going 2-for-3 to pull the team within one point at 23-24.
Unfortunately, a string of turnovers and missed shots from the Bulldogs allowed the Sagehens to take a 41-32 advantage into the locker room at the midway point of the game.
With a lot of catching up to do, the Bulldogs struggled to heat up their productivity in the second half, shooting a mere 33.7% from the field.
Although Redlands gained 17 second-half points from the bench, Pomona-Pitzer continued to rain three-pointers and stretch its lead to 24 with just 3:16 left in the game.
Overall, Menary led the Bulldogs with 24 points on 3-of-3 shooting from deep and a perfect night at the charity stripe while adding three rebounds, two blocks, and one assist to his line. Sophomore guard Hass Berry (Riverside, CA) provided a solid spark off the bench with eight points on 3-of-7 shooting to go along with two rebounds and one steal.
The Bulldogs (5-16, 3-9 SCIAC) travel to the University of La Verne on Wednesday, February 7, for a SCIAC match-up against the Leopards at 7 p.m.
