Vallejo, CA- Menlo Men's Basketball's start to their season has been defined by road trips and hostile crowds. Six of the teams first seven games have come away from the confines of Haynes-Prim Pavilion. Regardless, the Oaks secured their sixth win of the season and third in a row after beating the Cal-Maritime Keelhaulers 73-56. While the game was a close contest through the first half, Menlo elevated their play after halftime and asserted themselves as the superior team by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Landon Seaman Dominates Once Again
Fans of Menlo Basketball have been fortunate to witness the dominant play of Landon Seaman over the past seven games. To put it simply, Seaman has established himself as one of the most dangerous scoring threats in program history. Coming into tonight's matchup the Oaks starting center boasted averages of 20.8 PPG and 6.3 RPG. He wasted no time getting to work as he scored the Oaks first 14 points of the night. The Keelhaulers had no answer down in the post as they tried different defenders, double teams and more. By the time the game ended Seaman scored 31 points while hitting 13 of 16 shots. That type of efficiency is elite but nothing new. He is now shooting a scorching 66% from the floor. Lastly, one of the more underrated developments of his game has been his evolution as a passer. For the game he handed out four assists without committing a single turnover. This is now his fourth game of the year with at least three or more assists. When a dominant low post scoring threat learns to move the ball, he becomes almost unguardable. Seaman is trending in that direction!
Starters All Stuff the Statsheet
Seaman may have led the way but the rest of the Oaks starting lineup was more than up to the task of taking on the Keelhaulers at home. Nick High has been on an absolute tear over the last few games and he made sure to keep the momentum going. High spent all offseason working on his ability to stretch the floor and it has clearly paid off. He knocked down a game high four threes on 57% shooting from the arc. The combination of his 6'6 frame and athletic ability force defenders to pick their poison. Let High shoot from three and he will make you pay as he is now shooting 50% from deep. Give him a lane to the basket and he is liable to put opposing defenders on a poster like he did against UC Merced.
Braydon Iuli once again led the Oaks at the point guard position and did a little bit of everything for coach Brendan Rooney. He scored 12 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. He also didn't turn the ball over once, a critical component to success for any floor general. Iuli has scored in double figures every game this season and has shouldered a lot of minutes playing no fewer than 29 minutes in any one game. Thankfully the New Zealand native is more than up to task!
Lastly, the team's lone senior Kaito Williams submitted his fifth double digit scoring effort of the year. Williams knocked down two threes as well as a break away dunk that highlighted his ability to score from all over the court. Williams ability to fill up the box score quickly makes him one of the most dangerous players opposing teams have to gameplan for each and every night. The senior guard is due for one of his signature scoring explosions sooner rather than later and after hitting a variety of shots on the road once again his breakout game could be just around the corner.
Up Next…
After weeks of long car rides and hotel stays the boys will finally be back inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion this Saturday against the visiting Simpson Red Hawks. Earlier this year the Oaks traveled up to Redding, CA and secured an 82-64 victory. Seaman and Williams were the Oaks leading scorers with 17 and 16 points respectively. Nine different players managed to score and with the offense continuing to find its groove hopefully fans will be in for another strong showing from the team!
