RIVERSIDE- The University of La Verne men's basketball team endured a 92-77 defeat at Division I UC-Riverside Thursday night.

The Leopards (3-2) kept things close in the first half and held a 19-16 lead at the 13:34 mark, but an 11-3 Highlander run gave Riverside (3-4) a permanent lead. The Leos faced a 44-33 halftime hole and cut the lead to nine less than four minutes into the second period, but could not keep the deficit to single digits for the reminder of the contest. 

Freshman guard Cruz Mertens led the La Verne offense with 13 points off 4-for-7 shooting in only 11 minutes off the bench. Senior guard Ron See led the Leos with six rebounds and five assists and chipped in seven points. Senior forward Brett Stephan was 3-of-4 from behind the three-point arc for nine points. 

The Leopards shot 27-for-56 (48.4 percent) from the field and an impressive 11-for-21 (52.4 percent) from downtown. The Highlanders held a 31-24 rebounding edge while La Verne held a 16-13 advantage in assists.

The Leos will return to action Saturday in their first SCIAC matchup with Occidental College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Los Angeles.