The University of Redlands men's basketball team exploded in the second half to end the annual Lee Fulmer Memorial Classic with an 87-70 victory over Southwestern University on Saturday night.
Senior forward David Menary (Grass Valley, CA) began the game in rhythm with the Bulldogs' first four points to tie the game three minutes in. Following a stop on the defensive end, junior guard Jack Roggin (Toluca Lake, CA) pushed the ball up the court to sophomore forward Kameron Wright (Fontana, CA) who converted a layup to spark a 9-0 run to make it 10-4 at the 16:26 mark.
Nonetheless, the Pirates stormed back to take a 19-13 lead by the 12:11 point in the half. However, the Maroon and Gray knocked down a three-pointer off of an offensive rebound to cut their deficit to 16-19.
Over the next couple minutes, junior wing Gary Menary (Grass Valley, CA) scored the next four points to take back the lead at 20-19 with 11:27 on the clock. Redlands' defense continued to dominate as senior wing Brittian Foster (Long Beach, CA) stripped the ball away and finished with a fast-break layup to extend the Maroon and Gray's advantage to 25-19.
Despite Southwestern regaining the lead at the 4:21-mark after a three-pointer, momentum shifted back to the Bulldogs, as a two-handed slam from Wright helped Redlands close out the half on a 10-1 run for a 42-34 lead at the break.
The Bulldogs picked up right where they left off with eight consecutive points from D. Menary, including back-to-back treys to crack open a 50-34 lead less than two minutes into the half.
The Pirates nearly cut their deficit to single digits after a made three-pointer, but D. Menary hustled for an offensive rebound and a converted and-one on the other end to extend their lead to 55-42 with 16:16 left to play.
The Bulldogs' defensive pressure continued to be effective with a block from G. Menary, and steals from D. Menary, first-year guard Aiden Williams (Portland, OR), and senior guard Thomas Scriven (Anaheim, CA) in a span of just a minute that helped push the Redlands lead to 61-45 with 12:29 on the clock.
After D. Menary scored another layup off of his own offensive rebound, the Bulldogs' next four baskets came from behind the arc, including three from Williams alone for a 72-51 lead at the 7:50-point. With just under two minutes to go, Redlands' perimeter attack was on display once again with back-to-back triples from Roggin and D. Menary to make it 87-69 with just over a minute of action remaining. The Bulldogs dribbled the ball out to let the clock expire and seal their 87-70 victory.
D. Menary led the game with a dominant double-double on 29 points and 13 rebounds with six of his boards coming on the offensive end. Roggin scored 14 points while dishing a team-high six assists. G. Menary also scored double figures with 12 points and five assists.
The Bulldogs were efficient by shooting an impressive 50% from the field and 42.4% from downtown. They also took advantage of their opportunities at the charity stripe by going 11-13 for 84.6%. The Maroon and Gray were effective in transition with 30 fast-break points, while also scoring 17 second-chance points.
Redlands (3-1) competes against Division I opponent UC Riverside in a road exhibition on Thursday, November 21 at 4 p.m., before heading to UC Santa Cruz for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, November, 27.