Photo By Toby Gassner

La Verne, CA — In the first half of the game Oxy came in hot and ready for what may have seemed like an easy win, however La Verne was ready to make a competitive game. Although playing with a slightly sloppy defense at the start, the entrance of Noah Delorme and Jack Amsler picked the game's energy up with Amsler's cross court layup, bringing the score to 19-12. La Verne's players struggled to maintain their footing on the court as Shipp scored, 21-12, and the rest of the Tigers led with great turnovers. The Leopards brought out a smooth steal by Brad Yasukochi, however they could not put themselves higher on the scoreboard as their two top shooters struggled with fouls during the first half; most of their points coming from the free throw line given the difficulty to hand Seth Shaw or Paul Antonis the ball. 

As per usual the chemistry between Anthony Hollerich, Kyle Dosa, and Sydney Shipp remained unmatched as the players were able to keep their feet and the ball moving between them. Hollerich found himself shooting buckets that brought the game up to 33-23, most of La Verne's points still coming from free throw shots and finally a field goal from Antonis with 3 minutes left. The Leopards found themselves trying to get the Tigers to do something different on the court, but failed to counter their successful tactics as they tired out. 

The second half started out much stronger for La Verne. John Malone II entered the court and made some shots, closing the gap to just three points behind over the usual ten points that Oxy had been leading during the first half. At 11:09, another shot by Malone brought them to 39-38, the first time La Verne was leading on the scoreboard. When Shipp entered the court, however, it was game over for the Leopards as he scored a total of 12 points during the game and brought us to 46-42 after Paul Antonis drained a triple for La Verne's players. As the Tigers regained themselves, Noah Delorme came in with the reverse layup, motivating the team for better ball and player movement overall. By the end of the second half, Oxy was up 5 points which John Malone was not ready to accept as he made a full court run heading for a layup that was blocked by an unexpected Sydney Shipp ending the game with 55-50, Oxy taking the win home. 

Next game: The Tigers have a home game against Oneonta in Los Angeles, CA on December 18th at 1pm