A brand new year, and a new start for the University of La Verne men's basketball team.
The Leopards opened 2013 by defeating Chapman University, thanks to a strong second half surge, by a count of 73-63 Saturday evening at Frantz Athletic Court to earn their first conference win of the season and snap a 10-game losing skid.
La Verne (2-10, 1-3 SCIAC) was tied with the Panthers at the half before opening the second stanza with a 14-2 run to seize a 40-28 lead.
A pair of free throws from Wolpe in the opening minute of the second half put the Leopards up 28-26. Consecutive jumpers from Jake Vieth and Jourdan Simmonds extended the lead to six at 32-26. After a pair of Chapman free throws, the Leos received back-to-back dunks from Wolpe and Alonzo Young to go up 36-28. The run was capped by a Vince Bauer jumper and a Simmonds layup for a 40-28 La Verne advantage with 13:33 remaining.
The Leopards continued their attack and eventually increased the lead to 20 points on yet another dunk by Young to stretch the margin to 55-35 with 8:38 left to play.
Chapman (7-6, 2-2 SCIAC) rallied late and managed to get within nine points in the final minutes, but would get no closer as free throws from Simmonds, Veith and Vince Bauer helped secure the win.
The Leopards shot 52.2% (24-46) from the field - including 65% (13-20) in the second half - and held a 30-25 edge in rebounding on the night. La Verne also benefitted by scoring 24 points off 15 Panther turnovers.
Wolpe paced La Verne by collecting a double-double with game-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds. Simmonds went 7-8 from the free throw line en route to 17 points while Vieth chipped in with 13 points. Ronn See finished with 9 points for the Leos.
Chapman was led by Taylor Hamasaki who posted 18 points while Colin Zavrsnik added 13 points.
The meeting between La Verne and Chapman was the first-ever SCIAC game among the longtime rivals. The victory also marked the Leopards' first triumph over Chapman since a 59-56 verdict back on November 20, 2007.
La Verne returns to action Wednesday night as it hosts Redlands in a 7:30 pm start at Frantz Athletic Court.
