The University of Redlands men's basketball team closed out the 2019 calendar year with a big 97-86 win over Bethesda University Tuesday afternoon.
With the victory, the Bulldogs improve to 8-2 on the year while the Flames drop to 2-15.
Wire-to-wire, Redlands led the game after scoring the first two points off a jumper from sophomore forward Kameron Wright (Fontana, CA) less than 10 seconds into the game. The Bulldogs threatened a double-digit lead five minutes in as senior wing Brittian Foster (Long Beach, CA) found an open lane and drove to the basket, 19-10.
Bethesda rallied to pull within two and keep the game close, but the Bulldogs never surrendered their lead, taking a 50-45 upper hand into halftime.
The second half started the same way the first did with a Wright basket, this time off an offensive rebound.
Things got interesting with 15 minutes left in the game as Bethesda pulled within a single possession, 56-59, but the Bulldogs didn't panic. Junior forward Parker Landolf (Alamo, CA) and Foster scored on consecutive Redlands possessions, including an and-one for Foster, to create some distance once again, 64-56.
Heading down the stretch, the Bulldogs were very much in control of the game, holding an 83-72 lead.
Bethesda tried to turn on the full court press and managed to cut the margin to single digits, 81-90, with just about three minutes to go.
The Bulldogs had a response, however, with junior guard Vincenzo Ferrari (Burlingame, CA) finishing an old-fashioned three-point play and junior guard Jack Roggin (Toluca Lake, CA) laying off a beautiful bounce pass to freshman forward Griffin Barker (Kirkland, WA) to put Redlands up 95-81.
Redlands keyed in on defense in the final minutes and capped the game with a Roggin steal to senior forward David Menary (Grass Valley, CA) dunk, 97-86.
Five Bulldogs finished the game in double figures, led by Menary with 19 points (6-for-13). Wright chipped in 14 points (6-for-8), while both Foster and Barker added 13 points. Senior guard Hass Berry (Riverside, CA) rounded out the quintet with 12 points.
The Bulldogs moved the ball well, with Menary dishing out six assists and Berry dropping seven dimes without a single turnover. Roggin led Redlands with five steals on the day.
Redlands also crushed the glass, out-rebounding Bethesda 45-to-30, with Wright grabbing a game-high eight boards.
The Bulldogs are back in action on Saturday, hosting Cal Lutheran at 2 p.m. for a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest.