Cody Christensen saw the sand running out of the hourglass. His basketball career was winding down quickly and he knew it.

Last summer the Placer High graduate re-dedicated himself to the sport he loves, working out daily with his Menlo College teammates. A jump-rope regimen made him quicker and a strict diet left him leaner.

The result?

“In one word — phenomenal,” Menlo coach Brandon Laird said of his senior guard. “Coming into this year we made him a team captain and we gave him the ultimate green light. I really trust him with the ball and we need him to stretch defenses. He’s been incredible throughout the course of the year.”

Christensen and his teammates earned a trip to the NAIA Division II National Championship next week at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo. by winning the California Pacific Conference tournament last month in Hayward.

The Oaks’ current nine-game win streak is the best in school history. With an 18-10 record, they need one more win to break the school record for wins.

“It’s been pretty fun this last week,” Christensen said. “It’s been euphoria because our big goal was to win the conference. But we’re definitely going back (to Missouri) to win a national championship.”

If Menlo’s remarkable run does continue at the NAIA tournament, Christensen will likely be in the middle of a very balanced offense. He is shooting nearly 46 percent from 3-point land and he’s had three games in which he’s made six 3-pointers.

The Oaks have seven players that average at least seven points per game. Christensen is the third-leading scorer on the team at 8.5 points per game.

“We’re extremely deep and we can play big, small, fast or slow,” Laird said. “That’s our strength. We’re not built around one guy.”

Christensen said the team’s defense is its signature.

“We really get after it on defense – that’s our identity,” he said. “We’re No. 2 in the country in opponents’ field goal percentage and we can really grind it out. Our defense never changes. We just focus on getting stops on every possession.”

Christensen’s focus is even more impressive considering his 3.8 grade point average, his part-time job as a valet manager and his recent engagement to longtime girlfriend Kelly Haangard – also a former Placer basketball player.

Christensen was named an NAIA Scholar Athlete and ESPN named him to the scholastic all-district second team. The Newcastle native had the highest GPA of any student-athlete at Menlo according to Laird.

“He’s just outstanding in every aspect,” Laird said.

Christensen elected not to play basketball his senior season at Placer. After some time away from the game, he landed at Monterey Peninsula Junior College. Laird discovered him at a junior college showcase. After San Francisco State and some other larger schools declined to offer him a spot, Menlo was happy to have him.

“I think they made a big mistake, but I’m glad they did,” Laird said. “We were looking for a JC transfer who could come in and shoot. I saw him play and I loved everything he stood for.”

Christensen never lost confidence in his game and the belief he could work hard enough to make the most of his basketball talents.

“I always knew I could play somewhere,” he said. “My uncle once told me if you can shoot, you could find a place to play. I knew I could out-work everybody and I knew I could use my head and find my niche. Eventually, I found a place that I could play.”

The Oaks will find themselves on NAIA’s center stage next week. They are seeded just 24th among the 32-team field at the national championship while their first-round opponent Evangel University is No. 6. Menlo has flown under the radar all season, but Christensen knew after last season that his senior year could be memorable.

“With some of the guys we had coming back, I knew we had a legitimate shot to do something special this year,” he said. “More than anything though, in my last year I wanted to go out with a bang.”