The University of Redlands men's basketball team opened up the annual Lee Fulmer Memorial Classic with a dominant 87-62 victory over Luther College (IA) at home on Friday night.
Despite a slow start from the Bulldogs, senior guard Thomas Scriven (Anaheim, CA) knocked down a deep triple to knot the game at 9-all almost five minutes in. Nearly five minutes later, junior wing Gary Menary (Grass Valley, CA) sparked a packed crowd with a trey and then a steal for a fast-break layup on back-to-back possessions. He culminated his own 8-0 run by stepping behind the arc for another trey off of an assist from his brother and senior forward David Menary (Grass Valley, CA) to make it 25-20 with 9:04 remaining in the half.
At the 7:47-mark, D. Menary reeled in the defensive board and then hustled down the rebound on the offensive end that led to his triple to help extend the Bulldogs' lead to 29-23. On the next play, sophomore forward Kameron Wright (Fontana, CA) kept the Maroon and Gray energized with a steal and a one-handed tomahawk dunk on the other end. An 8-0 Redlands run ended with a lay-in by junior forward Spencer Bandow (Covina, CA) a couple minutes later to push its lead to double figures at 35-23.
The Bulldogs ended the half with a pair of triples from junior guard Jack Roggin (Toluca Lake, CA) and D. Menary to head into the break with a 46-29 advantage. The Bulldogs dominated the glass in the first half with a 25-14 margin, including nine coming on the offensive end.
By the 11:36-point in the second half, Roggin swiped a steal that led to a fast-break layup for the Bulldogs' largest lead of the game at 69-40. Roggin continued his strong half with an assist, a three-pointer, and a layup in less than a minute span to help the Bulldogs push their lead back up to 29 with 8:33 left to play.
The Bulldogs forced Luther into a zone defense late in the game, but the Maroon and Gray continued to execute down the stretch and secured an 87-62 victory.
For the game, D. Menary paced all scorers with 15 points while pulling down seven boards and dishing out six assists. Wright was efficient from the floor with a 6-for-7 clip for 12 points, while senior wing Brittian Foster (Long Beach, CA) came off the bench for 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting. G. Menary and Roggin paced the defensive effort with four and three steals, respectively.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot and effective 43.5% from the field and outrebounded the Norses, 49-36. The Maroon and Gray also forced 20 turnovers that led to 28 points on the other end and 16 fast-break points. Their bench also shined with a 33-point output.
Redlands (2-1) concludes Lee Fulmer Memorial Classic action on Saturday, November 16, against Southwestern University (TX) at 7 p.m.
