Late rally falls short for Men's Basketball

LA VERNE, Calif. — Four players reached double digits in scoring for the University of La Verne men's basketball team, but Cal Lutheran rode 50 combined points from Arik Smith and Coltrane Powdrill to defeat the Leopards, 71-64, at Frantz Court on Tuesday night.

The Leopards took care of the ball and rebounded well, but couldn't convert on some of the easy looks. La Verne grabbed 16 offensive rebounds but only turned it into 13 points while the Kingsmen had 15 second chance points on 10 offensive rebounds. The Leopards also missed on decent looks from beyond the arc and finished 4-of-25 from outside.

After an evenly played first half, the Kingsmen started the second half on a 15-6 run to get out to a 42-32 lead and created separation. The Leopards slashed the deficit to six points with 5:38 to go on a pair of baskets by Karl Reyes and a three-pointer by Kendall McClain, but Smith and Powdrill answered with consecutive makes for the Kingsmen to stretch the lead back to double digits.

The Leopards eventually got within 65-62 with 25 seconds by attacking the basket and stopping the clock with free throws. But Cal Lutheran made all of its free throws the rest of the way to hold on for the win.

Khaneal Mason scored all 10 of his points in the second half to help keep the Leopards afloat. He used his speed and quickness to attack the basket and drew five free throws in just 11 minutes.

Hakim Arnold also got going in the second half with his signature pull-up jumpers and floaters after a slow first half. He finished with 15 points and five rebounds.

Kendall McClain got the Leopards going early with a couple of three-pointers and midrange jumpers off the bench. He finished with 13 points and four rebounds.

Smith and Powdrill combined for 14 rebounds, three assists, four blocks and went 14-for-18 at the line to go along with their prolific scoring output.

The Leopards fall to 8-13 overall and 4-8 in the SCIAC. Cal Lutheran moves into first place at 10-2 with Chapman's loss to Whittier on Tuesday.

The Leopards return to action on Saturday at 4 p.m. when they host Redlands (5-16, 2-10 SCIAC).