La Verne Men's Basketball Holds on to Upset No. 11 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

LA VERNE, Calif. - Josh Angle had 32 points on 9-12 shooting, but the La Verne men's basketball team was able to hold on late and capture a 92-88 win over 11th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Wednesday evening at the La Verne Sports Pavilion.

The loss snaps a seven-game win streak for CMS, which slips to 10-2 on the year and 2-1 in conference play. La Verne, meanwhile, improves to 4-8 on the season and 1-3 in league competition. 

CMS had a 51-point first half, behind 19 from Angle, but La Verne was able to cut into a 16-point CMS lead and pull to within just five at halftime. The Leopards then went on a 19-7 run midway through the second half to turn a 59-53 deficit into a 72-66 lead, capped off by Jonas Holt three-pointer with 10:49 to play. 

Rhett Carter had two foul shots for the Stags to close the gap to 74-72 with 6:33 to go, and Angle's two foul shots made it 78-77 with 4:48 left, but the Leopards were able to hold off the challenge and get the lead back up to six with 59 seconds left at 85-79. 

Angle hit a three-pointer with 27 seconds left to make it an 89-86 game, and Kiran Kruse scored on a layup with 16 seconds left to close it to two at 90-88. However, Kyler Harvey hit two pressure foul shots with eight seconds left, to make it a two-possession game, and the Leopards were able to hang on for the tight win. 

Justin Pratt had a double-double for CMS with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Carter and Kruse each had 13 points. The Stags were playing without starting forward Matt Meredith (injury) and lost starting point guard Brian Kenyon with his fifth foul with 4:23 to play with it still a one-point game.

CMS will look to bounce back and start a new winning streak when it hosts Whittier on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Roberts Pavilion.