The University of Redlands men's basketball team produced an outstanding campaign that culminated in a 20-7 overall record and a 12-4 mark in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action for second place in the standings. Beyond new records and individual accolades, the 2019-20 Bulldog squad became only the fourth in the program's 102-year history to post a 20-win season, the third since 1960-61, and the second in Head Coach Jim Ducey's tenure.
After a challenging loss in their season opener, the Bulldogs quickly responded with four wins against formidable foes to complete the month of November with a 5-1 record. First, the Maroon and Gray stormed out to an early lead against Linfield College (OR) in the back half of the Redlands Tip-Off Classic and never looked back. On the heels of a 57-point first half that included 22 collective points from junior wing Gary Menary (Grass Valley, CA) and junior guard Jack Roggin (Toluca Lake, CA), the Bulldogs prevailed in a 94-69 decision. Roggin finished the game with a team-high 19 points.
Redlands continued to impress by defeating Luther College (IA), Southwestern University (TX), and UC Santa Cruz by 64 points combined. While going 5-for-7 from the floor, senior wing Brittian Foster (Long Beach, CA) accounted for 10 points in the 87-62 win over Luther. Against Southwestern, senior forward David Menary (Grass Valley, CA) provided 29 points and 13 rebounds for his first double-double of the season while also entering the 1000-point club at Redlands. The final win of the month came at UC Santa Cruz by a score of 72-50 and featured a well-rounded effort from the entire squad. The Bulldogs bettered the Banana Slugs in every desirable statistical category, including bench points, fast-break points, points in the paint, assists, rebounds, and shooting percentage.
The Maroon and Gray kicked off conference competition on December 4 when four out of five starters produced double-digit scoring in a come-from-behind, 83-73 win at Occidental College. D. Menary paced the squad with 20 points, while sophomore forward Kameron Wright (Fontana, CA) tossed in 11 points and 11 rebounds. Furthermore, junior forward Spencer Bandow (Covina, CA), and senior guards Hass Berry (Riverside, CA) and Thomas Scriven supplied instrumental three-pointers to propel the Bulldogs past the Tigers.
Following a 72-74 loss to the University of Puget Sound (WA), Redlands bounced back with wins against non-conference opponents in its next three contests. The Bulldogs captured a 61-49 victory over UCSC for their second against the Banana Slugs. Roggin went 5-for-11 from beyond the arc for a team-leading 17 points. With a team-high nine rebounds, Bandow highlighted the U of R's defensive effort that held the opponents to 31.9% shooting. Next, Redlands used a strong second half that included clutch free-throws to top Simpson College (IA), 87-75. Forty-four of the team's points came from the bench, with Foster leading the crew with 12 points. Finally, Redlands led wire-to-wire in a 97-86 victory over Bethesda University to improve to 8-2 on the season. Wright led the Maroon and Gray in rebounds for the fourth time in six games, recording nine boards against Bethesda.
Early in the New Year, the Bulldogs completed the first round of SCIAC showdowns with a rollercoaster of results that put them in the middle of the standings at 4-4. This forced them to regroup, reassess, and push forward in a constant test of their grit. During this stretch of games, three of Redlands' four losses came by four points or fewer. In the win column, the Maroon and Gray earned an 80-58 decision over the University of La Verne that included a collective 13-point outburst from junior forward Parker Landolf (Alamo, CA) and junior guard Vincenzo Ferrari (Burlingame, CA) in the final five minutes of the first half. The Bulldogs also nabbed a 67-62 victory over a pesky Caltech squad before cruising by Whittier College in a 105-86 thrashing to finish out January's schedule. Against the Beavers, Landolf paced the offense with 16 points, while Ferrari supplied a pivotal steal that resulted in his go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute. Against the Poets, Roggin and Berry made it rain threes, as they each knocked down six from deep for 24 and 23 points, respectively.
With plenty of work to do to reach the postseason, the Bulldogs entered the second half of the conference campaign with a one-game-at-a-time mentality: win one, move onto the next. With tenacity, focus, and heart, the men's basketball team perfectly executed this in the final eight contests of the regular season, leading to an exciting second-place finish in the SCIAC standings.
During this stint, Redlands avenged each previous conference loss and prevailed by double figures in six of the eight, late-season wins. Among the highlights, Wright fueled the 100-61 win over Cal Lutheran by scoring a career-high 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. The Bulldogs used 47 bench points, including a career-high 22 from Ferrari, to push past Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, 94-77. A relentless defensive effort held Chapman scoreless for nearly four minutes in the Maroon and Gray's 87-81 win in mid-February. Redlands outlasted Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, 82-80, in a hard-fought battle that saw first-year forward Griffin Barker (Kirkland, WA) supply 23 points, while Roggin and Berry combined for 27. In a 105-90 victory over Whittier, Barker unleashed a career-high 36 points on a 64.7% shooting night that included a 6-for-9 effort from downtown. The Bulldogs celebrated Senior Night with a dominant 103-73 win over La Verne for an exciting conclusion to the regular season. The seniors all made the stat sheet, with D. Menary scoring a game-high 22 points, Berry adding three buckets from beyond the arc for 13 points, Scriven recording a key steal, and Foster offering seven points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Following the regular season, the SCIAC announced Barker as the Newcomer of the Year and D. Menary as a two-time First-Teamer. Against conference foes, Barker averaged 14.8 points per game with a conference-leading 61.6% shooting percentage. He also provided 6.7 rebounds per game. D. Menary averaged 14.2 points per game with a solid shooting percentage of 44.3%.
Now equipped with the No. 2 seed, Redlands squared off against CMS for the third time of the season and the second time in nine days. On the heels of their nine-game win streak, the Bulldogs entered the SCIAC Postseason Tournament for the sixth time and hosted the Stags in Currier Gym for the semifinal showdown on February 28. As expected, the score remained close with neither team holding an advantage of more than six points among the 10 lead changes. The two-point victory came down to free-throws and defense, as CMS' final shot of the game missed the mark for the Bulldogs' exciting, 68-66 win.
This sent Redlands to Pomona-Pitzer for the championship game and the opportunity to earn the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, the Maroon and Gray faced an early deficit and struggled to recover en route to the season-ending loss.
Nonetheless, the Bulldogs finished a remarkable run that included 10 wins in their final 11 games to secure one of the best records in school history at 20-7.
D. Menary represented Redlands on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) West All-District Second Team. He completed his career as a Bulldog with 1,333 points to rank sixth all-time at the U of R. He also sits second with 359 made free throws, seventh with 453 made field goals, and eighth with 80 blocked shots.
Redlands also celebrated its Team Academic Excellence Award from the NABC for earning a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher. D. Menary, Scriven, Ferrari, Roggin, and G. Menary each garnered the individual accolade as members of the NABC Honors Court for maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.2 as juniors or seniors.
With the incredible success of the 2019-20 season, the Bulldog men's basketball team provided a memorable exit for Ducey, who announced his retirement in mid-April. He completed his 29-year career at Redlands having won conference titles with four different teams (men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis) and coaching multiple All-Conference, All-American, Hall of Fame, and national champion student-athletes.
Although the personnel losses for the program are significant, the Bulldog men's basketball team boasts a solid foundation of talent and leadership amongst its returning crew. As the new chapter unfolds with new Head Coach Eric Bridgeland, the future remains bright for this program steeped in tradition and history at the University of Redlands.