Atherton, CA- Arizona Christian Men's Basketball closed out their regular season with a 62-58 win over Menlo on Saturday.  Then they played the waiting game to see if their season would continue into the GSAC Playoffs.  Vanguard indeed lost and the season will continue for the Firestorm.  Senior Shy McClelland led all scorers with 17 points.

The opening four and a half minutes featured back and forth action.  Senior Mishima Gray converted a pair of free throws to start the scoring.  The Oaks (10-18, 3-13 GSAC) countered with a three for the lead.  Junior Andy Sessions answered with a jumper for the 4-3 edge.  Menlo made a basket on their next possession for a 5-4 lead.  Sophomore Patson Siame took a feed from Gray for the 6-5 score change.

Over the course of the next eight and a half minutes, the Firestorm (18-11, 5-11 GSAC) allowed only two ties.  But right at the 7:00 minute mark, Menlo hit a three pointer to briefly move ahead.

However, ACU rattled off an 11-0 run to take control of the rest of the half.  Junior Omari Lewis scored the first three points with a bucket and one.  McClelland contributed four points in the run.

At the half, the Firestorm held a 29-21 advantage.  McClelland topped all players with just eight points at the break.

Up eight with 16 minutes to play, Arizona Christian saw their lead evaporate as Menlo produced a 9-1 run to create a 37-37 tie.

But Sophomore Carter Wilson drained a three pointer to break the tie.  Wilson's three started a streak of five straight made shots by the two teams.  Menlo's Michael Hauser scored, McClelland made a layup, Hauser scored in the paint again, and Wilson ended the string of consecutive shots with a jumper in the paint and the score stood at 44-41 ACU.

Junior Matt Willkomm and Sessions nailed back-to-back threes and ACU would not let MC get any closer than four the final eight minutes.

ACU showed their patience in the second half as they only attempted 16 shots in the final 20 minutes but they made ten of those attempts to shoot 62.5%.

McClelland lead the shooting of the Firestorm as he finished a perfect 7-7 from the field on his way to 17 points.  Willkomm added 12 points.  Gray followed with nine points and seven rebounds. 

Menlo's William Asplund ended his season with a 15 point and 10 rebound effort.

Head Coach Jeff Rutter commented, "We did a nice job defensively today.  The ball moved well and we had several guys step up and make big plays when we needed.  Carter had a real nice stretch and hit two baskets at a crucial time.  Proud of Mishima and Shy- they played very well in their last conference game of their careers."

Arizona Christian did all they could do with the win- now they had to wait.  Their playoff chances seemed like they were slipping away as Vanguard held a 10 point lead in the second half.  But The Master's produced a 19 point swing to beat Vanguard 85-76 and punch the ticket for ACU.

Oddly enough, Arizona Christian and The Master's will now meet in the first round of the GSAC Tournament on Thursday.  The first two rounds of the men's tournament will be hosted by Westmont.  The Firestorm and Mustangs will tip-off at 5:00 pm PT/ 6:00 pm AT in Santa Barbara.