ATHERTON, Calif. - Julian Harris scored 26 points and drained five consecutive 3-pointers during a key stretch as Menlo College ran away from Simpson 84-60 in a California Pacific Conference blowout on Thursday night inside Haynes-Prim Pavilion.
From the very start the Oaks were the better team, storming out to a timeout-inducing 12-1 lead just over four minutes into the game. Menlo remained in control, but appeared far from putting the game out of reach when the junior sharpshooter started to find way more space than a gunner of his caliber needs.
The Oaks lead 32-25 when Dejon Grant found Harris open for his first 3-pointer of the night with three minutes, nine seconds to play in the first half. Simpson's Jason Stubbs and Grant traded close-range scores before Grant found Harris for another 3-pointer and Menlo's largest lead to that point at 40-27.
Harris found space on his own to sink a jumper and added another off a Tim Kees pass before scoring on the fourth straight Oaks possession when he canned a long 3-pointer from another Grant assist four seconds before the break. Menlo led 47-29 at halftime, but it - along with Harris - wasn't done yet.
Harris turned a pass from Kees into three more points to open the second half, then swished his fifth straight 3-point bomb off an offensive rebound and kick out by freshman Patrick Greene. The Red Hawks had no answer for Harris and the rest of the Oaks, who had opened a 57-32 advantage with less than three minutes gone in the second half.
Menlo had outscored Simpson 25-7 during the six-minute stretch that spanned halftime. Harris scored 19 points during the run on 7-of-7 shooting.
Though the Oaks lead never grew from that point it was never in jeopardy. Simpson did manage to trim its deficit to 65-50 with eight and a half minutes to play after scoring seven straight points, but Menlo put the outcome back under lock quickly.
Nick McCullar made a free throw, Kees drove for layup, and Harris made his sixth 3-pointer in response. McCullar added two more from the charity stripe for a 73-50 lead and only five minutes to go.
Menlo finished a scorching 35-of-57 from the field, shooting 61.4 percent for the game. The Oaks made 8-of-14 from deep while limiting Simpson to 37.1 percent shooting from the field and just two 3-pointers in 13 attempts. Menlo also outrebounded the Red Hawks 44-29.
Harris was 10-of-13 from the field and 6-of-8 from outside, scoring a point for every minute he played. McCullar was the only other Oaks player to reach double figures, scoring 10 with five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Grant added seven points and eight assists, Kees netted eight points with five rebounds, Tyler Rajnus finished with seven points and eight rebounds, Dung scored eight, and Greene grabbed eight rebounds.
Jason Stubbs and Justin Sparks scored 16 and 15 points, respectively, to lead Simpson. No other Red Hawks player reached double figures in points.
Menlo is now 2-4 in the Cal Pac and 6-13 overall. The Oaks host first place Holy Names (6-0, 8-16) on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Simpson is 1-5 in conference and 5-16 overall.