Photo by Joe Bergman

PASADENA — The La Verne men's water polo team turned on its jets in the second half to beat Occidental, 11-7, in the seventh-place match of the 2016 SCIAC Championship tournament on Sunday morning at Pasadena City College Aquatic Center.

The Leopards outscored the Tigers, 8-4, in the second half. The Tigers struck first in the second half with back-to-back goals from Dominic Rodriguez and Paul Bergevin to grab a 5-3 lead but the Leopards answered with four straight goals in the third period to retake the lead. Guillermo Ocasio found the back of the net with 4:48 left in the quarter and Rey Julian Castillo, Jared Hopley and Rex Sample each scored a goal in the final 1:48.

La Verne added two more unanswered markers in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Senior Hopley finished with a game-high four goals in the last game of his career. Castillo, Ocasio and Vega each had two goals.

Rodriguez led the Tigers with two goals.

La Verne finishes the season 7-19 overall and 5-6 in SCIAC play.