The University of Redlands men's basketball team took down the Panthers of Chapman University, 87-81, in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) battle inside Currier Gym on Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs started off the game hot with a quick 5-0 run that was highlighted by a three-pointer from senior guard Hass Berry (Riverside, CA) in the first two minutes of the game. Despite Chapman calling a timeout to regroup, Berry knocked down another triple off of junior guard Jack Roggin's (Toluca Lake, CA) dime to pull ahead, 8-2.
The Bulldogs continued to generate stops on the defensive end while building a 10-point lead after Roggin's three-pointer made it 17-7 at the 12:56-mark.
Over the next few minutes, the Panthers gained traction by cutting the deficit to three points midway through the half, but first-year forward Griffin Barker (Kirkland, WA) stepped behind the arc for a trey to make it 22-16 with 7:48 to go. Although Chapman came back to within two points, Barker stepped up once again to score his eighth consecutive point for the Maroon and Gray to take a 25-21 lead about a minute and a half later.
Barker's layup sparked a 10-0 run by the Bulldogs that featured five straight points from senior forward David Menary (Grass Valley, CA) and another triple from Roggin to build a 33-21 lead with 4:18 left in the half.
The Panthers worked to close the gap, but Redlands went into the halftime break with a 39-33 lead.
The teams came out the locker room trading blows, until Menary and first-year guard Aiden Williams (Portland, OR) combined for back-to-back three-pointers to extend the Redlands lead to 49-40 nearly five minutes into the second half.
Each time Chapman began to mount a comeback, the Bulldogs answered with a run of their own, including a quick 5-0 spurt to extend the lead to double-digits at 58-48 with 11:48 remaining.
A couple of minutes later, the Panthers cut their deficit down to 59-63, but Barker answered by converting a challenging and-one basket to push the lead back up to 66-59. Later in the half, Chapman came to within just three points, before Williams drained a deep three-pointer off of an assist from sophomore guard Colin Au (Rolling Hills Estates, CA) to make it 71-65.
Down the stretch, Redlands clamped down on the defensive end and did not allow Chapman to score a basket for almost four consecutive minutes. All-the-while, Redlands built an 83-73 cushion with just under a minute and a half to go in the game.
The Panthers scored six unanswered points, but junior guard Vincenzo Ferrari (Burlingame, CA) sealed the game with a steal and a layup in the final eleven seconds, en route to the Bulldogs' 87-81 win.
For the game, Barker led the effort on both ends with a team-high 21 points and three blocks. Roggin stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and one steal, while Menary tallied 15 points, six boards, two steals, and two blocks.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 47.7% from the field and 39.1% from the perimeter. The Maroon and Gray also pushed the pace with 15 fast-break points to Chapman's two, while also out-rebounding the Panthers, 46-31.
Redlands (15-6, 8-4 SCIAC) gears up for a trio of road games, beginning with Caltech on Saturday, February 15, at 5 p.m.
