Atherton, CA- In a rare basketball occurrence, Arizona Christian and Menlo both made 25 field goals and converted three shots from behind the three point line.  The difference on the scoreboard of the 66-61 Menlo win came at the free throw line where the Oaks made 13 freebies while the Firestorm made just eight.  Seniors Mike Navar and Bobby Gray along with Junior Chris Sterling all scored 12 points on the afternoon.

Two minutes and 20 seconds into the game, the teams had produced two ties and one lead change.  Following a three minute scoreless drought by both teams Sophomore Trevor Clay pushed ACU back in front.

Menlo scored the next five points to move ahead.  Less than a minute later, Navar hit a layup in the paint to grant ACU the lead for the next seven minutes.

The Oaks (9-14, 3-7 GSAC) were on top for an 18 second span before a three pointer from Sterling gave the Firestorm a two point cushion.  Sophomore Andy Sessions broke a 21-21 tie.  A 23-23 tie was broken by Senior Collin Woods with 3:19 remaining in the half.

ACU held the lead until the half and were up 31-26 when the teams headed to the locker rooms.

Nobody in the game reached double digit scoring in the first 20 minutes.  Navar topped the Firestorm (17-5, 5-4 GSAC) with six points.

Beginning the second half with a three pointer by Sterling ACU grabbed an eight point lead- their largest of the game.

But the Oaks started to cut into the Firestorm lead.  After holding off Menlo through three ties, Arizona Christian held a 45-44 edge with 9:56 to play in the game.  Forty-five seconds later, ACU surrendered the lead and MC never gave it back.

The Oaks converted 9-12 free throws and outrebounded the Firestorm 17-9 in the second half (38-26 overall) to turn the game in their favor.

Head Coach Jeff Rutter broke down the game with this statement: "We did not play very good basketball this weekend. We knew that we had to take care of the ball and defensive rebound in order to have a chance, and we were unable to execute those two things."

Focusing on the take away from the game, Rutter added, "We did not have great practices this week so it was somewhat expected but disappointing none the less that we were unable to get the stops when we needed them.  There is a lot of basketball left. We (coaches) need to do a better job preparing them this week. We have a lot of work to do and must stay focused on improving."

Preparation can be at a premium next week as the Firestorm do not play until Saturday.  The Master's College men will come to Phoenix for a 3:00 pm AT/ 2:00 pm PT opening tip.