Santa Barbara, California- In one of the most crucial matchups of the year, Menlo exchanged buckets with Westmont though two halves. It was a close matchup across almost every statistical category. Both teams would shoot 50% from the field. Menlo secured 34 rebounds against Westmont's 32. Each squad's bench contributed over 20 points. Unfortunately, three point shooting would be the difference maker. The Warriors hit 63% of their shots behind the arc compared to the Oaks 33%.

Balanced Scoring Attack

The Oaks put forth a balanced scoring attack with seven players scoring seven or more points. Junior guard Kaito Williams led the way with 17 points on six made shots. Kareem Rowe, Patrick Ryan and Landon Seaman all chipped in eight points. Freshman Braydon Iuli has continued his breakout with 13 more points. The New Zealand native has now scored in double-figures in six straight games.

The Return of Patrick Ryan 

Over the last six games Menlo has been without one of their top players in sophomore guard Patrick Ryan due to a wrist injury. Ryan had been one of the leading scorers for coach Rooney with roughly 13 points per game as well as a great rebounder with an average of six per game. While the Oaks may have lost, seeing one of their top talents back on the court had to be encouraging. In only 19 minutes of play Ryan scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and hit two three pointers. With the emergence of Braydon Iuli, the Oaks have a very promising backcourt of the future.

Up Next… 

Menlo Men's Basketball will close out the regular season with a road game against The Master's University. In their last matchup the Oaks pulled out an 85-77 victory in overtime. There is no doubt that TMU will be looking to avenge their loss. With Patrick Ryan back in the fold, hopefully the Oaks can end the season in the win column on Saturday at 2 PM!