Santa Cruz, CA.— The University of Redlands (8-2) kept Williams (9-2) under control with a press, but they racked up fouls in doing so. Soon after two free throws from
Noah Dinkins,
Cole Prowitt-Smith nailed a corner three to cut the Eph deficit to just six points with just under nine minutes to go. The Ephs were in the bonus and had a good chance to take back the game.
However, the Bulldogs' Cameron Joseph was not going down so easily. He sank back-to-back corner threes to decisively bring momentum back to Redlands.
Nate Karren and
Brandon Roughley did what they could to keep the win in reach, scoring big-time buckets in the paint, but it was too late, and Redlands was able to take the game 82-71.
The Bulldogs challenged the Ephs all game with their press, having deployed it early in the first half. They generated fourteen turnovers while only committing three of their own in the half, allowing Redlands to take 38 shots to Williams' 25.
Still, the score was only 40-36 in favor of the Bulldogs at the end of the first— despite taking thirteen more shots than the Ephs, Redlands only made two more baskets (14-12). The Ephs shot their threes at 71.4% in the first half.
One of those big threes was made by
Cole Prowitt-Smith. With that shot he scored his 1,000th career point — becoming the 38th Eph to ever do so.
Another standout for the Ephs was
Sammy Cooley, who made his first start of the season and came out pressuring the Bulldogs. He got into the paint and was fouled to go to the line three times. He had two layups through the rest of the first, got to the line one more time, and added on a three to boot.
"Sammy's been playing great all year," said Eph head coach
Kevin App on the sophomore's play. "What Sammy's really good at is getting in the paint, handling the ball, and guarding the perimeter, which were all things we needed against Redlands. I thought he played great and it's fun to see him taking on more and more responsibility."
After the gritty first half, the Ephs went into the second half looking to better challenge the Bulldogs' press. While Redlands displayed better shooting than they had in the first, Williams was able to keep pace.
Alex Lee scored an and-one layup.
Alex Stoddard had a three and a layup of his own.
Noah Dinkins added on two in the paint to cut the Eph deficit to four points.
Redlands kept shooting from behind the arc, and three makes from long range allowed them to keep Williams at bay. On the defensive end they continued to force turnovers, but they also fouled again and again in pursuit of steals. The threat of bonus shots forced them to give the Ephs more space.
As the Bulldogs pulled back their press a little, the Ephs found their footing and pushed forwards. However, despite Williams' efforts, it was Redlands' three point shooting that allowed them to take the game.
With time running out and Redlands shooting as well as they were, the Ephs couldn't turn the tide, and the Bulldogs took the win 82-71, stopping the Eph win streak at 9.
"I thought overall we played really hard," said coach App. "Redlands has an identity and they're really good at what they do. We did our best to simulate it with two days of practice, [but] we just weren't quite ready for their style. I thought we got tired, but again they're really good at what they do. I thought we did what we do defensively really well at times, but to give them credit I thought they made a lot of late-shot-clock contested threes that won them the game."
Williams will play again tomorrow at 7pm (PST) vs. the tournament's hosts, UC Santa Cruz.
