PASADENA, CA —  The University of La Verne men's basketball team surged to a 12-point halftime lead and held off the Beavers in the second half to earn a 67-55 road win over Caltech in its SCIAC opener.

Ten different Leopards scored in the win. La Verne received 35 points from the bench, including Carlos Bedolla's team-high 12 points. Kyler Harvey nearly notched a double-double, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.

"Great road victory over a well-coached, tough Caltech team. I'm proud of the grit and fight this team showed. Road wins, especially in the SCIAC, are hard to come by, so I'm glad we started 1-0 in the conference," said University of La Verne men's basketball head coach Richard Reed.

Bedolla got his squad rolling, scoring 10 of La Verne's first 14 points to put the Leopards up 14-7 midway through the first half.

The Leopards closed the first half on a 10-4 run to take a 31-19 lead at the break.

La Verne continued to roll in the second half and took their largest lead of the game with 6:49 left to play after a Dahmaj Warren jumper put the Leopards up 55-38. Warren finished with nine points, two steals, and two rebounds. 

The Leopards dominated down low, scoring 40 of their points in the paint. They forced 20 Caltech turnovers and made the Beavers pay, turning the extra chances into 20 points.  

Tyler Brown led La Verne with three steals and nine points. Darien Guyton added eight points, two rebounds, and a steal. Jonas Holt dished out three assists.

La Verne improves to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the SCIAC. The Leopards return home this Saturday to face Life Pacific at 2 p.m.