By Nate Rodriguez, Sports Information Intern

PASADENA — The University of La Verne men's basketball team traveled to Caltech  on Saturday, Jan. 29th in search of their season's first conference win. The Leopards  battled hard to outscore the Beavers in the second half, despite losing this year's first  matchup between the two. 

The Leopards came out of halftime trailing by 21 points, but brought the score to within  10 with just less than four minutes on the clock. Caltech's offense remained persistent,  never allowing the lead to shrink to double-digits in the second half.  

Junior guards Paul Antonis and Alex Blanco led the backcourt in the second half,  managing to produce double-digit points in the latter 20 minutes. Antonis was all over  the floor, proving his recognition for the most recent Leopard Athlete of the Week award;  collecting eight rebounds and three steals on top of his 15 point performance. Blanco  came off the bench and led the Leos in scoring with 18 points, shooting 6-10 from the  field. 

On Monday, Jan. 31st, Caltech will travel to La Verne in order to make up a game from  earlier in this season that was postponed due to COVID-19 protocol. The Leopards will  host the Beavers in the back-to-back matchup, looking for revenge in their hunt for their  first SCIAC win.