The University of La Verne rallied from a 11-point second half deficit to overtake Whittier College in a 52-50 road triumph in SCIAC men's basketball action Saturday at Graham Athletic Center in Whittier.
With the victory, the Leopards (13-11, 8-5 SCIAC) clinched a spot in the SCIAC Postseason Tournament with one game remaining in the regular season. La Verne currently sits alone in third place in the league standings.
The Leopards also snapped a three-game losing skid while avenging a 53-52 defeat to the Poets in the conference opener on January 8 in La Verne.
Down 48-43, La Verne reeled off eight unanswered points on a pair of three-point baskets from Jeremy Lay along with a pair of free throws from Austin Napolitano to grab a 51-48 advantage with 1:11 remaining.
The Poets got within a point on a field goal from Willie Mebane to cut the margin to 51-50 and stole the ball on the Leopards' ensuing possession for a chance to regain the lead. A jumper from Jordan Ramos misfired, and the Leopards' Alex Wolpe hauled in the rebound and made one of two free throws after being fouled.
Whittier had one final possession with 7.2 seconds to go, but Ramos and Ricky Kamayatsu both missed jumpers as the Leopards held on for the victory.
La Verne trailed 45-34 with 9:25 remaining before embarking on a 9-1 run capped by a layup from Alex Wolpe to get within three points at 46-43 with 4:28 remaining. Whittier's Nathan Easterman connected on a layup with 3:53 left to play before the Leos went on the 8-0 run to grab the lead.
Both Whittier's Easterman and Greg Peer fouled out in the final three minutes of action.
The Leopard frontcourt duo of Napolitano (17) and Wolpe (14) combined for 31 points against the Poets. Napolitano went 7-13 from the field while Wolpe, the SCIAC leader in field goal percentage, finished 5-9 in field goal attempts in addition to pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.
The Leopards shot 44.2% (19-43) from the field while holding the Poets to a 28.1% clip (18-64) on the evening. The Leos also cracked the 50-point mark for the first time in two weeks.
Kamayatsu and Mebane each collected 10 points to lead the Poets, who fell to 12-12 overall and 7-6 in conference play.
La Verne sits alone in third place at 8-5 in the SCIAC standings, one game ahead of both Whittier and Cal Lutheran. The Leos close out the regular season against Redlands in a 7:30 tip-off on Tuesday at Frantz Athletic Court.
