Trevor Woodland's baseline jumper with 5.8 seconds remaining lifted the University of La Verne to a thrilling 61-60 triumph over Caltech in SCIAC action at Braun Athletic Center in Pasadena to turn back the Beavers' upset bid.
Caltech (4-15, 0-8 SCIAC) will wait for another night to end their 26-year winless streak in conference play. The Beavers' last win conference play occurred on January 23, 1985. Since then, the Engineers have dropped 305 consecutive games in league action.
Down 60-59, Woodland drove to the corner and arched a 15-footer over two Beaver defenders to reclaim the lead for good. Todd Cramer's shot at the buzzer for Caltech went unanswered as the Leopards escaped with the win.
La Verne led by as many as 10 points in the second half before the Beavers mounted their comeback efforts. Caltech got within four points at 51-47 on a Cramer mid-range jumper with 8:23 left. The Leopards responded with four consecutive points in building their lead to 55-47 with just over five minutes left in the contest before the Beavers made their closing charge.
The Beavers trailed by eight with 5:25 to play before embarking on a 10-2 run to tie the game at 57 with 1:30 remaining. A Collin Murphy free throw with 1:03 to play gave Caltech its first lead of the game to send the partisan Beaver crowd into a frenzy.
Down by a point and without the services of big men Austin Napolitano and Alex Wolpe (both of whom had fouled out in the final minute), the Leopards came up empty on the ensuing possession, but guard Jonathan Bastos earned a steal and was fouled en route to the basket. Bastos sank both free throws to put the Leos back on top at 59-58.
Caltech responded, as Cramer hit a short jumper off the glass to give Caltech a 60-59 advantage with 18 seconds remaining, setting up the Leopards' final possession leading to Woodland's game-winner.
La Verne (11-8, 6-2 SCIAC) led 32-25 at the half, limiting the Beavers to 25% (5-20) shooting prior to intermission. Caltech was aided by 19 free throw attempts, connecting on 15 to stay within seven points of the Leopards at the break.
Despite the lead, the Leopards encountered foul trouble in the frontcourt as Napolitano and Jack Mayer committed three fouls apiece in the first half. Napolitano committed his fourth foul with 17 minutes remaining while Wolpe picked up his fourth foul with 8:53 left.
Caltech took advantage of the Leopards' foul situation by shooting 57.1% in the second half to get back in the contest as Mike Edwards (18 points) and Ryan Elmquist (17) scored consistently in the paint for the Beavers during the final 20 minutes.
La Verne shot 50% (21-42) from the field while making 63.0% of its free throw attempts. Napolitano led the Leos with 17 points while Woodland added 13 points. Wolpe and Tyler Hoyt led the Leopards in rebounding with 6 boards each.
The loss was the second straight defeat for Caltech that went to the final buzzer. The Engineers dropped a 70-68 decision to Whittier on the road last Saturday after missing a game-tying shot attempt against the Poets.
The Leos continue SCIAC action on Saturday as it takes on Cal Lutheran on "GO GREEN" night at Frantz Athletic Court. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
