The University of Redlands men's basketball team countered the high-octane shooting system of the Greenville University (IL) Panthers on Saturday afternoon to come home from Lincoln, Nebraska, with a 130-119 non-conference win. While facing a similar style that the Bulldogs ran under former Head Coach Gary Smith, the Bulldogs managed the trapping defense and successfully traded more layups for three-pointers to stop the Panthers. By the final whistle, Redlands had converted 63.8% of its shots, with junior guard Hass Berry (Riverside, CA) and junior wing Brittian Foster (Long Beach, CA) each scoring career-highs in the positive outcome.
Redlands jumped out to a quick 17-11 lead off of quality shots by junior forward David Menary (Grass Valley, CA), senior guard Joey Sponheim (Redlands, CA), and Berry, with six of the first eight buckets coming off assists.
Although Greenville made it a one-point game with 11:27 to go in the first half, the Bulldogs responded with a 10-2 run that included trey balls from junior guard Thomas Scriven (Anaheim, CA) and Sponheim.
The teams continued to jockey for position in the final nine minutes of the stanza but Redlands never trailed. The Bulldogs orchestrated another scoring spurt that included 12 unanswered points to make it a 15-point game with 1:55 left on the clock. During this stretch, Berry, Sponheim, and first-year forward Kameron Wright (Fontana, CA) converted buckets, with two of them coming off a sweet pass from graduate student guard Kyle Hamane (Pasadena, CA). However, Greenville answered right back with a quick 14-point run that sent Redlands into the locker room with only a 61-60 lead midway through the contest.
During the second half, the Panthers and Bulldogs traded the lead through the 9:21-mark, with neither team gaining more than a four-point edge.
Over the next two minutes, Redlands turned a one-point deficit into 97-90 lead with huge buckets from Berry and Sponheim. In addition, the Maroon and Gray backed its offense with quality stops and big rebounding to keep the Panthers off-kilter.
The quick pace continued, as the Bulldogs built a 10-point advantage over the subsequent 120 seconds, thanks in part to steady success in the paint by Berry, Menary, and Foster.
Although Greenville cut it down to four with 4:46 remaining, Redlands stuck with the game plan to stay in front with key buckets and solid defense down the stretch. In addition, the Bulldogs converted multiple free throws by Berry, Sponheim, Scriven, and Menary to keep the Panthers at bay.
In just 22 minutes, Berry finished the game with a career-high 35 points, which came off 12-for-17 shooting. He knocked down four of his five three-pointers and was nearly perfect from the stripe with a 7-for-8 effort. Foster also scored a career-high with 21 points while shooting 83.3% from the field in only 20 minutes of action. Menary and Sponheim combined for 37 points, with Sponheim hitting four three-pointers in the process.
With 39 total assists, the Bulldogs split up the ball-distribution duties to just about everyone on the floor, with Sponheim delivering nine dimes and Menary providing eight to highlight the team.
Redlands won the rebounding battle with a 57-43 advantage, as Scriven snagged a team-high 10 boards.
The Bulldogs scored 78 points in the paint by breaking through the Panthers' defense and working the ball to the hoop for good shots. Forty-nine points came off fast breaks.
Greenville tossed up 53 shots from deep but only made 12 of them.
Following the Snyder Classic, it was announced that Menary represented Redlands on the All-Tournament Team.
Redlands (2-2) hosts the Lee Fulmer Memorial Classic on Friday, November 30, and Saturday, December 1, in Currier Gym. The Bulldogs face the University of St. Katherine at 5 p.m. on Friday, while Pacific Union College squares off against Bethesda University at 3 p.m.