Redding, CA- Menlo Men's Basketball hit the road for their first away game of the year as they traveled up north to take on the Red Hawks of Simpson University. The Oaks had not played Simpson since the 2019 season which resulted in a down to the wire 78-76 victory. Now with coach Brendan Rooney at the helm Menlo returns to Haynes-Prim Pavilion with a resounding 18 point victory.

The Boys Bring It On Offense

Four different Oaks scored in double digits for the game in large part to the teams overall efficiency on offense. As a team they shot 50% from the floor, 39% from three and 72% from the free throw line. In the first half senior Kaito Williams did the heavy lifting scoring 11 of his 16 points in the first 20 minutes. He knocked down two threes while also dishing out two assists to help Menlo maintain a seven point lead into the half. 

In the second half juniors Landon Seaman and Nick High came alive and took the game over. High caught fire from behind the arc hitting three of four three point attempts. With a little over nine minutes left in the game he drilled a three point shot on the left wing while drawing contact to secure the four point play. High is one of the premier shooters on the team and at 6'6 when his shot is falling, defending him is not an easy task.

Down in the paint the Red Hawks had no answer for Landon Seaman and his arsenal of post moves. Coming into the second half he only had two points on a pair of made free throws. All that changed with a little under 16 minutes to go in the second half. In the span of 53 seconds Seaman scored seven points including an And-1 finish that put the Oaks up by 12. From that point on Simpson never got the lead back under 13 points. Through two games, Seaman is now up to 18 points per game to go along with a stellar 60% field goal percentage and a vastly improved 80% free throw percentage.

Lastly, point guard Braydon Iuli has quietly been rock solid through two games. After scoring 14 against Maritime he once again scored 14 points but this time he shot 75% from the floor while adding five boards and three assists. The Red Hawks could not keep the New Zealand native out of the paint as he seemingly got to the rim at will. On top of his scoring, Iuli has stepped up his playmaking responsibilities as he didn't turn the ball over once in 29 minutes of action.

Another Freshman Makes His Mark

In their last game, the Oaks saw freshman guard Austin Ito make an impact during his playing time. Tonight, it was 6'9 freshman Salim Arikat that would give the opposition matchup nightmares. 

Standing at 6'9, Arikat is the tallest player in coach Rooney's rotation but his calling card is his shooting ability. Unfortunately for Simpson, Arikat caught fire from the arc hitting three threes enroute to a 50% 3PT percentage as well as grabbing five rebounds. With the unique combination of height and shooting, Arikat can space the floor in ways few players can. As he grows into the team's offensive scheme his impact will be hard to ignore.

Player of the Game

Landon Seaman: 17 PTS, 4 ASTS, 83% FG

Seaman led the Oaks in points, assists, field goal percentage and free throw percentage. Not bad for the mustachioed center out of Vacaville. Two games in and he has picked up right where he left off last year.

Up Next…

With two games in the book Menlo will not turn their attention to the Bill Holtz Classic held by Jessup University next weekend. The Oaks will have five days to prepare for matchups with Southern Oregon University and Montana State University-Northern. Both programs will present unique challenges given their status of out of state programs. Menlo has not played Montana State University-Northern since the 2018 season and will look to avenge last years loss to Southern Oregon at the same tournament!