REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Men's Basketball team (11-2, 3-1 SCIAC) led by double figures for all but five minutes during their 97-62 blowout over California Lutheran University (CLU) Saturday afternoon inside Currier Gym. The 35-point win is their largest against the Kingsmen since February 2020 when they won by 39.
Omari Ferguson (Chicago, Ill.) found Chozen Amadi (Richardson, TX) from behind the arc for a quick three :12 seconds after Lucas Gordon (San Marcos, CA) won the opening tip. The three was the first of a 16-0 run by the Bulldogs to begin the game as the defense held CLU scoreless for more than eight minutes. All eight field goals came from different players with Amadi and Austin Unegbu (Long Beach, CA) making three-pointers and Derek Sangster (Sunnyvale, CA), Jhace Boston (Bakersfield, CA), Gordon, Cam Brown (Bakersfield, CA), and Jake Hlywiak (Valencia, CA) contributing two each.
The first 20-point lead came from a Nathan Mattera (Fontana, CA) three-pointer with the assist to Brown. The largest lead of the game came with only :11 seconds remaining when Amadi made a triple after Boston got the Bulldogs' the final possession following a steal, which resulted in a 48-16 U of R lead at the break.
The Kingsmen scored 16 of the first 26 points of the second half, which cut the deficit to 26, 58-32, with 16:09 on the clock. Donovan Ware (Palmdale, CA) and Mattera, though, each made three-pointers that extended the lead back over 30, 67-33.
That 30-point advantage was maintained the remainder of the game as the Bulldogs won their third consecutive contest.
No player for Redlands played more than 24 minutes and five were able to reach double figures with Sangster and Gordon each recording 14 points. Mattera and Ware went a combined 8-of-12 from three as the Bulldogs made 13, eight of which came in the opening half.
On the afternoon the Bulldogs shot 53.7% from the field, 41.9% from behind the arc, and 85.7% from the free-throw line. They also scored 46 points in the paint, had 11 fastbreak points, received 45 points from the bench and earned 23 points off turnovers.
Redlands remains at home for a matchup with the University of La Verne this Wednesday at 7 p.m.
