ATHERTON, CA – Sharing the ball to the tune of 16 assists and being rewarded with a season-high 10 triples, Menlo Men's Basketball led for most of the first half and was up by 12 with under 12 minutes to play in its Pacific West Conference rematch hosting Westmont. However, a 13-1 Warriors run shifted momentum before 3-pointers by the visitors allowed them to be in a position to seal the 80-74 victory on 10 made free throws in the final minute Monday evening inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion.
Oaks Highlights
-Knocking down a season-high five 3-pointers,
Kai Brown finished with 21 points plus four assists, two rebounds, and two blocks
-18 points apiece came from
JaMaal Unuakhalu and
Nick High, who combined for 15 rebounds as well
-
Devon Woods added seven assists to up his total to 21 over the last three games
Menlo Leads Rematch For Over 29 Minutes
The Oaks erased their opponents' early 8-4 advantage with a 12-2 surge highlighted by 3-pointers from sophomore guard
Jonathan Moxie and junior guard
Marvin Brumfield. Senior forward
JaMaal Unuakhalu had four points to help maintain the margin, but seven unanswered by Westmont briefly put the visitors in front once again. That was countered by sophomore guard
Kai Brown's two triples over Menlo's next three possessions, pushing the team's eventual 31-30 lead at halftime.
The difference quickly became double digits in the second half as a 17-5 start featured another 3-pointer from Brown plus two by senior forward
Nick High. With 11 and a half minutes to go, junior guard
Devon Woods' fifth assist found Unuakhalu for a layup to make it 51-39 in the Oaks' favor. That advantage did not hold, however, thanks to the aforementioned 13-1 run to tie things up.
Another Brown triple and numerous free throws made by High forced the issue for Menlo yet a 10-2 push had the Warriors taking a seven-point lead into the final two minutes. There, Brown's three-point play made it a one-possession contest before free throws finished off the 80-74 win for Westmont.
Up Next
On the road for the final time this season, Menlo will rematch Fresno Pacific at 4:15 p.m. on Feb. 21.
