WHITTIER, CA — The University of La Verne men's basketball team got off to a great start against the Poets, jumping out to a 17 point lead late in the first half. 

But the Poets took the lead midway through the second half to hand the Leopards an 80-71 loss in their SCIAC opener.

Sinai Enoch led the Leopards with 18 points on 7-11 shooting with two three-pointers. The sophomore added six rebounds, five on the defensive end.

Isiah Knox finished in double figures, scoring 15 points off the bench. The Corona native shot 3-5 from beyond the arc with four rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

The Leopards took a 34-17 lead with 4:29 left in the first half after Segun Oyeku made a pair of free throws. But the Poets came back to life, ending the period on a 10-0 to cut La Verne's lead to just eight points at the break.

Kenyatta Louder gave the Poets a 47-46 lead with just over 13 minutes to play and Whittier extended its lead to 12 points after a pair of free throws by Nick Colosi.

Jordan Allen got the Leopards to within six points with 58 seconds left to play but that was as close as La Verne could get.

Seth Shaw finished with nine points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Tevin McClain dished out five assists, scored four points, and grabbed three boards.

Louder led the Poets with 21 points and Nick Potthoff scored 17 points.

The Leopards move to 0-6 overall and 0-1 in the SCIAC. Whittier improves to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in conference action.

Next Game

La Verne gets back on the court on Sunday, December 8 when Puget Sounds head to The Tents for a noon tip-off. The Loggers will be the third Northwest Conference opponent the Leopards have faced this season.