The University of La Verne opened an 11-point halftime against Occidental and held off a Tiger rally in the second half to earn a 52-49 victory in SCIAC men's basketball action Wednesday night at Rush Gymnasium in Eagle Rock.
The win was the Leopards' first over the Tigers in nearly five years. The last La Verne victory over Oxy occurred on February 4, 2006 in a 82-78 triumph.
La Verne held the Tigers to 17-44 shooting from the field (36.5%) including a 2-9 effort from three-point range (22.2%).
The Leopards (6-7, 1-1 SCIAC) started strong, opening a 12-2 advantage over the Tigers in the first 5:23 of the contest. A Jeremy Lay three-pointer with 1:23 remaining gave the Leopards their largest first-half lead at 26-13 en route to a 26-15 cushion at the break.
In the second half, Oxy (7-6, 0-2 SCIAC) got to within seven points at 26-19 before the Leopards regained momentum and pushed the lead back to double-digits. Two straight baskets from Trevor Woodland extended the Leopard lead to 32-19 with 15:29 remaining. Moments later, the Leos would enjoy its biggest advantage of the game on a layup from Alex Wolpe to provide La Verne with a 37-22 lead at the 12:40 mark.
Down 41-29, Occidental proceeded on a 9-2 run culminating on a jumper from Sam Stapleton to pull the Tigers within five points at 43-38 with 5:41 remaining.
La Verne responded by pushing the lead back to eight points (49-41) and held a seven-point lead at 50-43 with 1:45 to play.
A Kris Montoya three-pointer got the Tigers within three at 50-47, but the Leopards held and got two free throws from Woodland with 18 seconds to help seal the win.
Woodland led all scorers with 20 points on 6-10 shooting, including a 4-5 performance from beyond the arc. Wolpe contributed with 15 points, connecting on 7 of his 11 field goal attempts. Lay and point guard Jake Veith added 6 points each.
Montoya led Oxy with 12 points while Deshun McCoy tallied 10 in defeat.
The Leopards return home on Saturday as they host Caltech at Frantz Athletic Court. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
