LA VERNE, Calif. --- Linfield men's basketball (1-3) kicked off the Southern California road trip on Tuesday evening, falling 80-67 to the La Verne Leopards, splitting the season series.
Each team scored twice in their first two possessions of the game, then leading to a nearly three-minute scoring drought. Linfield stumbled out of the gates, trailing 14-6 with 13:17 remaining in the first half.
Gavin Perdue and Valu Vargas hit a pair of threes midway through the period, drawing the 'Cats within one possession.
Dayton Magaña and
Logan Morrill fueled a 12-0 run spanning over four-minutes, giving the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 24-19 with 5:26 remaining. The Leopards battled, tying the game a pair of instances, but Magaña executed a driving layup in the closing seconds of the half, giving the 'Cats a 30-29 lead at the break.
Following a pair of early lead changes in the second half, Magaña gave Linfield their largest lead of the game (six), with 16:27 to go in the game. An 8-2 run by La Verne knotted the ballgame back up, while Morrill and Vargus kept Linfield level for the stretch.
La Verne regained the lead with a three at the 10:21 mark, a lead they would hold onto for the rest of the game. This propelled a 14-0 run in favor of the hosts, giving the Leopards an eight-point cushion with under ten to go. Linfield's defense was unable to slow down La Verne over the final few minutes, giving the Leopards the win, 80-67.
Magańa led the team in scoring once again, putting up 19-points on 6-16 from the field. He also led the team with four steals, while dishing two assists and grabbing three rebounds. Morrill was effective from the field, shooting 60%, good for 14-points and a team-high eight rebounds. Magana, Morrill, and Vargas were the Wildcats only double-digit point scorers.
Although Linfield grabbed ten more offensive rebounds, leading to a 21-6 margin in second chance points, La Verne notched 17 more points off the bench, while taking care of the ball.
The Wildcats will stay in Southern California for the holiday weekend, taking on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Friday and Saturday evening; both games are set to tip off at 5 p.m.
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