Fueled by a career-high 15 points from sophomore forward Kameron Wright (Fontana, CA), the University of Redlands men's basketball team dominated Cal Lutheran University, 100-61, in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday afternoon.
The Maroon and Gray turned defense into offense early on for the first six points of the game. First-year forward Griffin Barker (Kirkland, WA) stole the ball twice, which led to layups from senior forward David Menary (Grass Valley, CA) on the first two possessions of the game. Junior guard Jack Roggin (Calabasas, CA) stole the ball on the next two trips down, leading to a pair of free throws to open up a 6-0 lead just over a minute into the game.
A few seconds after checking in, senior wing Brittian Foster (Long Beach, CA) stepped behind the arc for a tray, scored a layup, and dished an assist for a triple to help the Bulldogs extend their advantage to 16-4 with 13:40 left in the half.
Redlands continued to click on both ends of the floor with an 8-0 run that featured two steals and baskets from three different players to cushion their lead to 29-8 with just under 10 minutes remaining.
The Bulldogs' defense caused havoc once again down the stretch with two steals and four points from junior guard Vincenzo Ferrari (Burlingame, CA). On the next play, junior forward Spencer Bandow (Covina, CA) intercepted the pass that led to Barkers layup to help the Maroon and Gray head into the break with a 48-27 lead.
Nearly midway through the second half, Wright began to find his rhythm with four points in his first minute back in the game. Just over a minute later, he converted an and-one off of a steal and a dime from Roggin to pull ahead, 69-38 with 10:43 left on the clock. While the Bulldogs kept the foot on the pedal, Roggin continued to provide a spark with a steal and two assists to Wright in a 30-second span to make it 86-52 with 4:57 remaining.
In the final four minutes, first-year guard Aiden Williams (Portland, OR) caught fire by scoring seven consecutive points, culminated by a three-pointer that helped the Bulldogs extend their lead to 90-52. He drained one more triple in the final minute to help cement a 100-61 victory for the Bulldogs.
For the game, Wright led all scorers with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting in 16 minutes of action. Barker tallied 14 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists, while Menary dropped in 13 points. Off the bench, Williams produced 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 from downtown in seven minutes off the bench.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 50.7 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Kingsmen, 46-31. They also forced 24 turnovers that led to 14 points on the other end, in addition to earning 18 second-chance points.
Redlands (12-6, 5-4 SCIAC) returns home for a three-game home-stand, beginning with Occidental College on Wednesday, February 5, at 7 p.m.