Leopards Outpointed By Bulldogs
The University of La Verne could not overcome a balanced scoring attack and a solid shooting effort by the University of Redlands, who downed the Leopards 78-61 in SCIAC action Saturday night at Currier Gym in Redlands.
The Bulldogs had four players score in double figures while the Leopards struggled offensively, connecting on 33.3% (18-54) of their field goal attempts.
La Verne played from behind nearly the entire contest as Redlands (10-8, 6-1 SCIAC) jumped out to an early five-point lead and would go up by as many as 11 points by grabbing a 15-4 lead with 13:53 in the first half. The Leopards clawed back into the contest and used a 7-0 run to tie the game at 25-25 on a pair of Matt Heyd free throws with 5:57 remaining before half.
The Bulldogs outscored the Leos 11-4 to take a 36-29 at the break. Redlands continued its momentum and opened the second half on a 7-0 run in 1:34 to gain a 43-29 advantage with 18:26 remaining.
La Verne (6-12, 2-5 SCIAC) twice cut the lead to single digits over the next seven minutes, first on a Trevor Woodland three-pointer to get within nine points at 43-34 at 17:05, and later on a Tyler Hoyt layup to pull the Leos within eight at 51-43 with 11:34 left to play.
The Bulldogs answered with six consecutive points to push their lead back to 14 points at 57-43 with 10:18 left to play. La Verne continued to battle and get to within single-digits on a Woodland three-pointer to pull the Leos within eight at 67-59 with 3:33 left in regulation.
Redlands built the lead back to double-digits and scored the last six points of the game to produce the game's final margin.
Woodland tallied a game-high 20 points, connecting on four three-point field goals. Leggett added 9 while Hoyt and Napolitano chipped in with 6 points.
Bulldog guard Pat Coffey paced the Bulldog offense with 13 points, going 2-for-3 from long range. Matt Dietrich and Jordan Sanvictores each contributed 12 points. Senior guard Andrew Maertens chipped in 11 points while connecting on all three of his three-point field goal attempts.
Redlands shot 49.1% from the field (26-53) and made 21 of 29 free throw attempts.
The Leopards, who are in the midst of a four-game road stretch, continue league action on Wednesday as it makes the short trip to Claremont to face Pomona-Pitzer for a 7:30 pm start.
