Game Details:
Date: December 30, 2006
Opponent: Notre Dame de Namur
Mascot: Argonauts
Tip-off: 7 pm
Venue: Walter Gleason Gym
City, State: Belmont, CA

This Week: The Oaks (3-5/0-1 Cal Pac) compete in their last game of 2006 as they travel north to play Notre Dame de Namur, a NCAA Division II school.

Scouting the Argonauts: The Notre Dame de Namur men’s basketball team is led by junior guards Ryan Cooper and Chris Clock who are averaging 10.8 and 10.3 points a game respectively. Dominating the boards for the Argonauts is 6-6 sophomore forward Dan Bergeron who is averaging 5.1 rebounds along with 2.5 assists a game.

Scouting the Oaks: Junior Bryon Wesley leads Menlo in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game. Senior Israel Torres is second on the Oaks in scoring and rebounding averaging 15.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Returning to the court for the Oaks is senior Aaron Gentry, who led the Oaks in rebounds last year with 180 boards while averaging 8.8 points a game.

Cal Pac Conference Notes: After finishing fourth last year in the Cal Pac, the Oaks are picked to finish second in the Cal Pac Coaches Preseason Poll behind Holy Names, last years Cal Pac Champions.

Menlo History: Since joining the NAIA, the Menlo men’s basketball team has accumulated a winning overall record (266-248). The Oaks have won two Cal Pac Championships and made two appearances to the NAIA Tournament, last one in 2001-02 season.

About the Coaches: An assistant the past three seasons, Brandon Laird was elevated to Menlo College’s head men’s basketball coach this past June. Laird, a UC-Davis graduate, inherits a program that showed dramatic improvement between each of his three seasons as an assistant, capping the run with a 17-11 showing during the 2005-06 campaign. Under Laird’s assistance, the Oaks also shined in the classroom. During the 2005-06 school year, Menlo accumulated a 3.2 cumulative team GPA and eight Oaks were named to the college’s Dean’s List.

Coach Puou begins his sixth season as the NDNU men’s basketball coach, compiling a 69-76 overall record. Puou led the Argos to an 8-17 record last season, the schools first in Division II. In 2004-05, Puou had his most successful season at NDNU, leading the Argos to an 18-13 overall record. The team went 13-3 in conference play, finishing in second place. Prior to his arrival at NDNU, Puou was the assistant coach at St. Mary’s College in Moraga. He also served as an assistant coach for the Panasonic Men’s Basketball Team in Japan after retiring as a player in 1997.