LA VERNE, CA — The Leopards battled and led by as many as 14 points in the second half against visiting Life Pacific Saturday night.

But the Warriors rallied late and pulled ahead to beat the University of La Verne men's basketball team 93-90.

Dahmaj Warren was one of four Leopards to finish in double figures and led all players with 24 points. He added six rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals. Darien Guyton scored 16 points, grabbed four boards, and added a pair of assists and steals. 

"It's a long year, but there are no moral victories. We had the lead, and we didn't finish the job. I'm proud of our fight but I'm not happy with our execution. We have to grow from it and learn how to close things out. But I am proud of how our guys continued to battle," said University of La Verne men's basketball coach Richard Reed.

The Leopards started the second half hot and looked poised to run away with the game. La Verne opened the period on a 15-6 run highlighted by a three from Paul Antonis and two makes from beyond the arc from Darien Guyton to take a 55-41 lead with 15:38 left to play.

But the Warriors stole the momentum and went on a 17-2 run to take a 59-57 lead.

The game remained tight down the stretch. Warren scored an and one with 1:13 left to play to bring the Leopards to within two points of Life Pacific, 86-84. Kyler Harvey made a clutch three with under a minute remaining to keep the Leopards on pace.

With 14 seconds left to play, Warren knocked down three free throws to cut the deficit to 91-90.

Life Pacific answered with a pair of makes from the line, forcing La Verne to take a three-point attempt at the buzzer that missed. 

Harvey finished with 14 points off 5-8 shooting from the field and totaled five rebounds. Antonis nearly notched a double-double, totaling 10 points and nine rebounds, all on the defensive end.

The Leopards had to rebound from a slow start that allowed the Warriors to jump out to a 14-4 lead three and a half minutes into the game. 

Antonis sparked his squad with a three-pointer that started a 15-4 run and ended with a Guyton layup that put the Leopards up for the first time, 24-23. The squads continued to trade points, but La Verne took control in the period's final minutes and took a five-point lead into the break thanks to back-to-back layups from Brach Yashukochi.

"We have to figure out how to get off to a better start so we're not playing from behind then have to use all this energy to catch up," said Reed.
The Leopards return to action on Tuesday, December 5, for the first game of a back-to-back against West Coast Baptist. La Verne travels to Lancaster for a 7 p.m. tip-off and then hosts the Eagles on Saturday, December 9, at 2 p.m.