by Danny Craig
Sports Editor
A 20-point deficit that lasted the nearly entire game led to the demise of the University of La Verne men’s basketball team in its 92-70 defeat to host Chapman University on Wednesday night.
Men’s coach Gabe Duran said he attributes the loss to a lack of mental readiness on the part of the Leopards.
“I told these guys before the game, they (the Panthers) don’t have a conference, so they have to win every game to get into the playoffs. They can’t afford to lose,” said Duran. “They came out like it was a conference game and we came out flat.”
The first half ended with the Leopards trailing the Panthers 47-27 before entering a second half that did little to change the point spread.
With a little under 12 minutes left in the half, ULV freshman guard Steve Rugg hit the hoop from behind the three-point line to make the score 65-43.
Rugg’s basket created a 22-point deficit that became one of the narrowest margins for the half.
Duran said that a lack of rebounding on the part of the Leopards was a major contribution to their struggles.
Although the Leopards had the final highlight of the matchup with one second left on the clock, the game was not theirs. Rugg hit his fourth and final three-pointer before the buzzer rang sealing the 92-70 advantage for the Panthers.
Coming off a 100-70 defeat against Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday, Duran said that he was more pleased with the previous performance, rather than Wednesday night’s matchup against the Panthers.
“We played with Cal Poly in the first half. We didn’t come to play in the first half tonight,” he said.
Despite the loss, the head coach said he was pleased with the performance of his bench.
“Our reserves that came in showed a lot of heart,” said Duran.
Namely, Rugg’s performance was held in regard by his coach. Along with sophomore forward Joe Bolander, Rugg scored 15 points for the Leopards. Senior Kevin Gustafson and sophomore Josh Johnson scored nine apiece.
With their now 3-2 record, the Leopards will prepare for La Sierra College on Dec. 14.
