ARCATA, Calif. – Despite a game-high 24 points from Tyras Rattler Jr., Humboldt State men's basketball was undone by its struggles from the charity stripe in a 79-78 loss to Menlo College Sunday afternoon at Lumberjack Arena.

The loss ran HSU's record to 3-8 while Menlo climbed to 10-2 on the season.

The Jacks outrebounded the Oaks 39-36 and held them to 2-of-11 shooting from three-point range, but Menlo rallied late en route to the victory. HSU went 11-for-20 from the free-throw line in the game.

Regarding his team's start against the Oaks, Head Coach Steve Kinder said "I think we prepared well, we practiced well, and we executed well early. That showed the discipline that we put in this week at practice."

Coach Kinder thought the tempo of the game was to Menlo's favor, as his team was pressured throughout the game, sometimes responding well and other times committing costly turnovers. HSU had 19 turnovers in the contest to Menlo's 14.

The Jacks took a 46-37 lead with inside a minute to go in the first half on a Rattler three before Menlo scored to make its deficit 46-39 at intermission. HSU shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, and nailed 7-of-14 attempts from outside the arc.

The Jacks had the advantage for the majority of the second half. A Colin Caslick three gave the home team a 70-63 lead with 6:05 remaining. The Oaks rallied inside the final few minutes to take a 78-76 lead. Kameron Curl drove to the basket and sank the equalizer with 20 seconds to play, but Menlo buried one of two free throw attempts with 2.5 seconds left to seal the win.

Rattler Jr. managed to hit 4-of-8 treys in the game and 9-of-18 attempts from the field. Caslick knocked down 2-of-3 from three-point range and finished with 13 points.

"Tyras played with a lot of confidence today," said Coach Kinder. "He made some big shots, played hard throughout the game, and he stepped it up."

Coach Kinder attributed Menlo's success in the waning moments of the game to their "mental toughness down the stretch being superior, along with the way they got their key guys the ball in big possessions."   

HSU will have a week of practice in advance of hosting Sonoma State on Saturday, Dec. 16 along with the rigors of finals week. Coach Kinder said, "It's a matter of work ethic, and we're committed to working and getting better. That's our challenge this week. Even though it's finals, we will have practice sessions in conjunction with them being student-athletes and being in the classroom finishing their semester."