The University of La Verne dropped its second straight game in conference play, suffering its lowest point total of the season in falling to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 56-48 Saturday evening at Ducey Gymnasium in Claremont.

For the second time in consecutive games, La Verne struggled offensively as the CMS defense held the Leopards to a .333 (18-54) field goal percentage.

Both the Leopards and Stags (34.1%) shot below 35%, but CMS enjoyed a prohibitive advantage at the free throw line making 25 of 39 attempts compared to La Verne's 7-15 effort at the charity stripe.

The Stags held a 22-16 lead on the Leopards at the break and opened their first double-digit advantage of the game at 41-31 with 6:40 remaining in the second half.   CMS continued to lead by at least seven points until Tyler Hoyt made two free throws to pull the Leos within six at 46-40 with 1:34 remaining.

Jeremy Lay made each of his three free throw attempts to cut the deficit to five at 48-43 with 1:25 left, but the Leopards could not get closer as CMS made seven of its nine free throws in the final minute.

Trevor Woodland, the Leopards' leading scorer was held scoreless through the first 38:12 of the night before hitting a layup with 1:12 left to play.  Woodland finished with a season-low 2 points on 1-13 shooting from the field and failed to post a three-pointer, finishing 0-5 beyond the arc.

Cody Mivshek led CMS in scoring with 15 points, finishing 10-12 from the free throw line.

Tyler Hoyt led La Verne 11 with points while Austin Napolitano posted a double-double of 10  points and 11 rebounds. 

With the loss, La Verne drops to 12-10 overall and 7-4 in SCIAC play, holding the third-place position behind the Stags (9-2) and Redlands (8-3).

La Verne continues league action Wednesday as it hosts Pomona-Pitzer at Frantz Athletic Court in a 7:30 pm tip-off.