The frontcourt duo of Austin Napolitano and Alex Wolpe helped overcome a strong offensive effort from Caltech's Mike Edwards as La Verne earned a 76-70 triumph over the Beavers in SCIAC men's basketball action Saturday at Frantz Athletic Court.
The Leopards used their size advantage to shoot 56.0% from the field against the Beavers and held a prohibitive 34-6 point advantage in the paint. Caltech countered with a 35-point performance from Edwards on 12-20 shooting from the field, including 7 three-pointers.
Napolitano and Wolpe combined for 41 points, with Napolitano posting a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds. Napolitano finished 6-10 from the field in addition to 11-15 from the free throw line. Wolpe, the SCIAC leader in field goal percentage, made 9 of his 10 shots en route to an 18-point night.
In the opening 7:24 of the contest, La Verne scored 14 of the game's first 20 points. The Leos built their lead to 26-12 with 7:43 left in the opening frame.
The Leopards led 42-30 at the half, shooting 55.2% from the field and held a 55-45 lead on Caltech before going on a 12-2 run culminating on a three-pointer from Jake Vieth to hold its largest lead of the game at 67-47 with 6:28 left.
Behind Edwards and Elmquist, the Beavers chipped away at the Leopard advantage in the late stages. The Beavers reeled off an 11-1 run to pull within 10 at 68-58 with 4:12 remaining. The Leopards were held without a field goal in the final 2:37 as Edwards scored Caltech's final eight points to end the game.
Mike Paluchniak added 16 points for Caltech while Ryan Elmquist chipped in with 10 pointsin the defeat.
With the loss, the Beavers (4-10, 0-3 SCIAC) extend their losing in conference games to 300 consecutive. All three of Caltech's conference losses have been decided by six points or less.
La Verne improves to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Leos will continue SCIAC action Wednesday night when they hit the road against Redlands (6-8, 3-0 SCIAC). Tip-off is 7:30 pm.
