CLAREMONT, CA — The University of La Verne men's basketball team battled with one of the top teams in the SCIAC Wednesday night and went to halftime down by just one point.

But Claremont-Mudd-Scripps responded with a big second half to beat the Leopards 84-82.

Top Performers

Darien Guyton led the Leopards with 13 points, three three-pointers, two steals, and three rebounds.

Dahmaj Warren added 11 points and three rebounds. Jonas Holt totaled nine points on three makes from beyond the arc. Kyler Harvey led La Verne with seven rebounds and scored eight points.

How It Happened

The Leopards started hot in the first half, shooting 46.9 percent from the field to keep pace with the Stags. The squads traded leads for most of the period, and neither team took more than a five-point advantage.

Guyton drained a three with 19 seconds remaining to put the Leopards up by two, only to be matched by a three at the buzzer from Caelan Jones that put CMS up 36-35 at the break.

The Stags rolled to start the second half and took an 11-point lead just over four minutes into the period, and the Leopards couldn't recover.

Season Impact

The Leopards move to 6-16 overall and 3-11 in the SCIAC. CMS improves to 17-6 overall and 12-3 in conference play.

Next Game

La Verne returns home on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff against Chapman. The Leopards will celebrate their seniors in a brief pregame ceremony.