Keelhaulers Defeat Menlo to Move to Championship

After a capturing the Californa Pacific Conference regular season title, the California Maritime Academy's men's basketball team traveled to Menlo College for the Cal Pac Conference tournament. Playing the second semifinal game on the men's side the No. 1 seed Cal Maritime on the home bench against host Menlo. And when the home crowd erupted after Charles Barnes drained an open three on the Oaks' first possession, it appeared it was going to be a battle. On their first possession, the Keelhaulers got a three-point play from Casey Healy, and Cal Maritime took control. CMA built an 11-point halftime lead and, despite a crowd-pleasing run by the Oaks in the second half to cut that lead to two, the Keelhaulers methodically pulled away to earn a 90-69 win.

Hanson led five Keelhaulers in double digits with 20 points. Dominique Barnes had a big impact inside, finishing with 16 points and a game-high nine boards. Grant Blaser connected on 3-of-5 treys to finish with 15 points. Casey Healy hit all six of his field goals and finished with 13 points, five boards, and a game-high four assists. Jaquai Wiley added 12 points for CMA, hitting 3-of-5 from the floor and all five of his free throws.

For Menlo, John Smith finished with 14 points—sinking eight of his ten free throws—while Barnes, Carlos Monroy, and Mandip Raieach scored 11.

With the win, the Keelhaulers advance to Monday's championship vs. Simpson University. Simpson beat William Jessup in overtime in the first semi-final. The last meeting between Cal Maritime and Simpson saw the Keelhaulers escape with a last second two point victory. Cal Maritime's head coach Bryan Rooney commented to championship matchup, "Monday should be a tremendous battle. We have great respect for their players and program. We look forward to the challenge."

Tip off will be 8pm at Menlo College. Also, Menlo will be offering a free live stream of the game through www.menloathletics.com.

Go Keelhaulers!!!!