While utilizing 15 players, the University of Redlands men's basketball team took down the Fighting Eagles of American Sports University in Wednesday's non-conference bout in Currier Gym. While never trailing by more than one point, the Bulldogs benefitted from their depth and defense en route to a solid 97-69 victory.

Redlands fired off 10 unanswered points to open the game before American Sports finally converted its first basket at the 15:35-mark.

Leading 14-4, the Bulldogs appeared to be in control, but the Fighting Eagles clawed back to pull ahead by one with 8:14 remaining in the first period. Thanks to the hot hands of junior forward Joshua Rayne and junior guard Shaun Fenner, American Sports rattled off 19 points in less than six minutes.

After a stretch of back-and-forth scoring, the Bulldogs finished the half on an impressive streak, building a seven-point lead when freshman guard Connor Griffin (San Ramon, CA) drained a three-pointer with six seconds left on the clock. He finished the game with seven points for the Maroon and Gray.

The second half saw a Bulldog-dominated performance as the squad earned a double-digit lead less than four minutes into the action.

After the Fighting Eagles rallied back to make it a six-point game, Redlands answered with a 15-2 run, essentially putting the game out of reach.

The Bulldogs created opportunities for easy baskets with successful double-team traps on defense. In addition, Redlands benefitted from the lack of depth on the ASU bench, simply out-lasting the opponents on consecutive plays.

Overall, the Bulldogs shot 53.6% and forced 33 turnovers.  

Eleven of Redlands' players scored at least one basket, with junior guard Tristan Kirk (Redlands, CA) leading the charge with 22 points. He went 10-for-12 from the field and also dished out five assists. Junior forward Josiah Brensdal (Kent, WA) stepped up with 17 points, which came off of a near-perfect 8-for-9 shooting. He also distributed seven assists, recorded six steals and pulled in six rebounds. Sophomore guard Matt Calhoun (Clackamas, OR) came off the bench for 14 points, highlighted by a pair of dunks in open space.

Rayne and Fenner teamed up as the top scorers for American Sports, contributing 19 and 17 points, respectively. Junior point guard Michael Manning came up with 14, while Ronald Coleman added 12 for the Fighting Eagles.

Redlands (5-6) tips off Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday with a 7 p.m. tilt against Whittier College in Currier Gym. The women also take the floor that night, tipping off at 5 p.m. against the Poets.