LA VERNE, CA — The University of La Verne men's water polo team opened the Gary Troyer Tournament 2-0 after defeating UC Merced 18-17 in sudden death overtime and beating Johns Hopkins 14-9.

Game One: La Verne 19, UC Merced 18 

Alam Chang-Barnuevo led the Leopards with five goals and three steals in the win. Jordan Baker added four goals and four assists. Peter Trinh scored four goals and added two steals. 

Trailing 16-13 with 18 seconds remaining in the first overtime period, the Leopards came out of a timeout and Sawyer Nering drained a buzzer-beater to cut the Bobcat's lead to two. Trinh cut the deficit to one but UC Merced quickly responded to build back a two-goal cushion

That's when the Leopards took over. Chang-Barnuevo scored with 1:42 remaining and Nicolo Buono tied the game with one minute on the clock with one of his three goals. Neither team could break the deadlock, sending the match to sudden death.

The Bobcats stole possession away on the Leopards' first attempt after Chang-Barnuevo won the sprint. But the Leopards' defense held with Eric Bates making a clutch save to keep La Verne alive. David Gutierrez came up big for the La Verne defense a possession later with a field block to stop a UC Merced attempt. Bates came through again with 49 seconds remaining in sudden death to set up a final chance for La Verne.

Baker called his own number and fired a shot past the goalie to the top nearside corner to seal the win.

Bates finished the game with nine saves and a steal. Nering totaled one goal, three assists, and three steals. David Gutierrez finished with a goal and three steals. 

Game Two: La Verne 14, Johns Hopkins 9

Baker scored a career-high six goals in the day's final game to guide the Leopards to a win. Bates grabbed 13 saves, two off his season-high. Trinh posted another four-goal performance and Nering scored twice. Chang-Barnuevo led La Verne with three saves.

The Blue Jays and Leopards played close through the first 12 minutes but La Verne began to pull away late in the first half.  Vaughn Freiermuth scored with 1:05 left in the half to extend the Leopards' lead to 8-4 and Trinh scored a minute into the third quarter to boost the lead to five goals.

Buono scored with three seconds left in the third and Johns Hopkins couldn't find a way to cut the deficit.