COSTA MESA, Calif. – Menlo shot 58 percent from the field and Vanguard struggled to find its rhythm in a 86-54 loss in Golden State Athletic Conference men's basketball action at The Pit on Saturday.
The Oaks remained undefeated at 8-0 on the season and improved to 2-0 in GSAC play, while the Lions fell to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in conference action.
Corey Le'aupepe scored 21 points and N'jai LeBlanc added 20 for the Oaks. The duo combined to shoot 17-of-26 from the field. The Oaks made 33-of-57 floor shots, including nine three-pointers.
Vanguard's bench outscored its starting unit 30-24. Junior Jordan Caruso (JR/New York, NY) posted game-highs in points (13) and rebounds (8), while Andre Allen (SR/Los Angeles, CA) chipped in with eight points.
The Lions shot 33.9 percent (20-for-59), including a season-low 15.4 percent (2-for-13) from deep. Garrett White (SR/Post Falls, ID) was the other double figure scorer for Vanguard with 10 points.
What Happened?: Vanguard never led in the game and trailed by 12 points, 18-6, just five and a half minutes into the game. The Oaks widened the lead to 30-12 on a three from LeBlanc.
The Lions chipped away at the deficit and climbed within nine at 37-28 on a jumper from James Moore (SR/Talco, TX), but missed five of their last six shots and could not make a further dent. Menlo went into the locker room with a 44-33 halftime lead.
Moore opened the second half with a jumper to pull the Lions within 44-35, but Jake Tranter hit a layup to cap off a 14-2 run to lead 58-37 with 13:54 to go.
The Lions could get no closer than 20 the rest of the way as they emptied their bench in the waning minutes.
Sophomore Jadyn Johnson (SO/Temecula, CA) scored his first career points as a Lion.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions lost their third straight to the Oaks after winning nine of the previous 10 meetings.
What Was Said?: "Our league is so good and so deep, with tons of respect for everybody and so I don't say this lightly. I think Menlo is one of the toughest and most together teams I've seen in recent years in the league this early," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday. "They play with a ton of purpose and pace and fight for great possessions for the whole 40 minutes. We had a couple key moments early in the second half where we had opportunities to close the gap to just a few possessions and every time we missed an opportunity, Menlo capitalized and turned it into a run for them. It's early for these conference games and I know we'll be better and continue to fight for purpose in our play. It's not gonna be easy to beat anyone in league shooting 29% in the second half. I gotta find ways to get us more in sync to help the guys play well more consistently."
What's Next?: The Lions are off until next Friday, Nov. 26 when they host their own Thanksgiving Classic. UC Merced, Westcliff and Hope International will also participate. Vanguard opens with UC Merced on Friday at 2:00 p.m., followed by Westcliff and Hope International at 4:00 p.m. On Saturday, Hope International takes on UC Merced at 2:00 p.m. and the Lions square off against Westcliff at 4:00 p.m.
