Dan Sayles
Staff Writer
The La Verne men’s basketball team will gear up for its 2007-2008 season, taking on Division I UC Davis in an exhibition match Sunday.
The team starts its regular season schedule on Nov. 16-17 against Warner Pacific and Puget Sound.
The game against UC Davis will be 4 p.m. on Nov. 11 . The Aggies are led by former ULV head coach Gary Stewart, who led the ULV men’s basketball team to its only three conference titles in history.
“It’s going to be a tough match,” sophomore forward Brandon Cunningham said.
“We’re excited about this opportunity to go up against them,” head coach Richard Reed said.
La Verne will play Warner Pacific at 4 p.m. on Nov. 16 in Tacoma, Wash., and will play Puget Sound the following day at 8 p.m.
Last season, the Leopards team finished with a 5-20 record.
However, Warner Pacific boasted an impressive 28-6 record last season, averaged 90 points a game and had a .727 free throw percentage.
“Warner Pacific is well-coached and well-skilled,” Reed said.
Reed has his players on a strict training schedule, working them two to three hours a day for six days, and having Sunday off, and has them lifting weights as part of their routine.
“There is definitely an improvement,” Cunningham said.
“Coach Reed is pretty good. He has a lot of experience,” said junior guard Danny Vasquez.
Puget Sound had an 18-7 record last season, with an average of 97 points in a game, and a healthy average of 12 steals per match.
After the two games, La Verne will return to sunny Southern California to take on Chapman Nov. 20 on the Frantz Athletic Court.
Chapman had a 21-5 record in last season, averaging 76 points a game, and had an impressive 13-game winning streak.
After Chapman, La Verne will go to Riverside to compete with La Sierra and then will come back for a home game again against Willamette.
Dan Sayles can be reached at dsayles@ulv.edu.
