The No. 2-seeded University of Redlands men's basketball team headed to top-seeded Pomona-Pitzer Colleges for the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Postseason Tournament Championship game. The Sagehens scored early and often handing the Bulldogs a tough, 66-87 loss in the final game of the season.
Although Pomona-Pitzer built a sizable lead through the first ten minutes of the first half, a layup and a three-pointer from senior guard David Menary (Grass Valley, CA) and a layup by junior guard Jack Roggin (Toluca Lake, CA) kept Redlands in the game at 7-20 with 10:58 left to go.
In the final four minutes of the first half, the Bulldogs went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to slowly chip away at the deficit. Junior forward Spencer Bandow (Covina, CA), sophomore forward Kameron Wright (Fontana, CA) and senior guard Hass Berry (Riverside, CA) all went 2-for-2 from the line. Although Wright and Roggin each added a layup down the stretch, the Sagehens never let up, heading to halftime with a 46-25 lead.
Wright impressed in the first six minutes of the second half on both ends of the court with two offensive boards, a layup, a block, and completed his spurt with a crafty three-pointer off an assist from first-year forward Griffin Barker (Kirkland, WA). Barker then swiped a steal that turned into points after Berry grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up for the score.
First-year guard Aiden Williams (Portland, OR) subsequently laid one in before Barker stayed strong in the paint for an offensive rebound and a layup to make it 38-59 at the 14:21-minute mark.
Five minutes later, senior guard Brittian Foster (Long Beach, CA) showcased a highlight-reel play as he swiped a steal and took it coast-to-coast with a slam-dunk to make it 47-67 with 9:22 left.
Fast-forward two minutes, the Bulldogs strung together a nice offensive showing going on an 11-6 run to close the gap slightly. First, Foster found Berry for a bucket from beyond the perimeter. Wright followed that up with a block to put Redlands back on offense quickly. Roggin then found Barker for a trey at 7:20 for a 53-69 score. Wright laid one more in before Barker and Williams sunk back-to-back threes for a 61-75 score at 5:07.
Barker and Williams added five more points for the Bulldogs in the waning minutes of the game, but Pomona-Pitzer had built a healthy lead to send the Bulldogs home with a 66-87 loss.
Redlands bench did outscore the Sagehens, 25-15. Barker notched a near double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Wright and Williams also scored in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Despite a slow start to the season, the Bulldogs found their rhythm and won 11 of their final 13 games to end the year with an impressive 20-7 overall record and 12-4 mark in conference.