A furious late-game rally by the University of La Verne came up short in its quest for the upset bid against Whittier College. As a result, the Poets held on for a 68-65 triumph over the Leopards in the regular season finale Tuesday night in Whittier.
The Poets, which trailed 31-30 at the half, went on a 13-2 run midway through the second half to grab a 54-44 advantage with nine minutes left. Whittier held a 65-54 lead with 2:59 remaining before the Leos made their final comeback attempt.
A three-pointer from Jake Veith and a pair of free throws of Josiah Sukumaran closed the gap to 66-59, and a basket and free throw from John Leggett cut the lead to four points at 66-62 with 1:40 to play. Moments later, Jeremy Lay connected on a three-pointer to get within a point at 66-65 with 1:15 left.
But the Leopards could not convert as a Trevor Woodland jumper with 26 seconds left was off the mark. Two missed free throws by Whittier gave the Leos another opportunity, but a missed layup by John Leggett gave possession back to the Poets, who would increase their lead on a pair of free throws from Greg Preer to take a 68-65 lead.
One last chance for the Leopards resulted in a missed three-pointer from Leggett as the Poets 918-7, 10-4 SCIAC) would hold on for the victory and thus clinch a berth in the upcoming SCIAC Postseason Tournament.
The loss concluded a season of several close-call defeats for the Leopards, who ended their 2011-12 campaign at 6-19 overall and 3-11 in conference play.
Whittier shot 53.8% (14-26) from the field in the second half. The rebounding battle was a near standoff with Whittier holding a scant 49-48 edge. The Leos shot just 50% from the free throw line, making seven of their 14 attempts.
Four Whittier players scored in double figures led by Drew Menez with 14 points. Nathan Easterman added 11 while Preer and Kelly Johnson contributed 10 points each.
Woodland finished with a game-high 21 points, going 5-of-10 from three-point range. Lay connected on five triples en route to 15 points. Austin Napolitano grabbed a team-high 9 boards.
The game marked the final contest for the six-player senior class which included Woodland, Leggett, Lay, Napolitano, Jonathan Bastos and Tyler Hoyt.
