ULV clubs Sagehens, tied for first
Campus Times
February 6, 1998
photo by Michael P. Bailey
Senior guard Gabe Duran exhibits La Verne's black-white press against
Pomona-Pitzer guard Vaughun Wilson. The Leopards are currently 14-4 overall
and 6-1 in SCIAC. ULV is tied with Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lutheran for first
place in SCIAC.
On their rigorous path to an undefeated conference start, the University
of La Verne men's basketball team had to face its Goliath -- Pomona-Pitzer
-- last Saturday. Both teams were 5-0 in conference prior to the competition,
but Pomona-Pitzer had been favored in the preseason to win the conference
title.
"I would still say Pomona-Pitzer is the favorite and we have to
give them the nod to win it [the game], but we are right in there to win
it," said ULV head coach Terry Boesel prior to the game.
The reason Pomona-Pitzer had been deemed the University of La Verne's
Goliath, is because it was the best rebounding team in the Southern California
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) and the Leopards were most deficient
in that aspect of their game.
"I think more than worrying about individual players on Pomona,
Pomona is the top rebounding team in our conference," said Boesel.
As a studied individual might have already guessed, David did beat Goliath
and the Leopards added another important winning notch to their unblemished
conference record.
What made this victory even more important than the others was the fact
that the Leopards beat Pomona-Pitzer on their home court by a score of 93-82,
regardless of being out rebounded 38-24.
"I thought it was a tremendous effort by the guys," said Boesel.
Once again the leading scorer of the game was a different player than
it had been in the previous games, which has become the unselfish theme
of the Leopards' bench consuming game plan.
The Pomona-Pitzer game, which could prove to be the demon the Leopards
needed to conquer on the way to a possible championship season, featured
junior guard Ken Cauley's 24-point outburst.
Cauley nailed five 3-pointers in the win, but without a supporting cast
(from which the Leopards managed three players in double-digits) the team
would not survive.
"This year everything is going great and everyone is gelling,"
said sophomore guard Cameron Chappell. "We know we have the talent
to get it done. The confidence is there. Everyone does the little things
to get it done."
Boesel often taps into his bench in order to bring fresh players into
the game because of his zone-press strategy, which requires the team on
the court to be long-winded and strong.
"The ability to play to our strength, which is our depth, allows
us the ability to press and run other teams," said Boesel.
In their five conference games previous to the Pomona-Pitzer showdown,
the Leopards defeated their opponents by an average of 14 points while shooting
76 percent from the free throw line.
"We are on a win streak, and we are going out and giving it our
all every week," said junior forward Eric Noyes.
The Leopards five victims, besides Pomona-Pitzer, included: Occidental
74-55 (from which freshman froward Kevin Gustafson was the leading scorer
with 15 points); Claremont Mudd-Scripps 76-67 (leading scorer, junior forward
Ryan Burchfield, 17 points); Caltech 84-53 (Gustafson, 13 points); Redlands
88-83 (junior guard/forward Chad Duggins, 14 points); and Whittier 78-69
(Burchfield, 16 points).
"There is no 'I' in this year's team," said Chappell. "They
are not selfish in getting the stats. As long as we get the 'W' [win]."
"I am really happy for the guys, that they can see their hard work
since September has paid off to this point," Boesel said.
As soon as La Verne beat Goliath and took first place in conference
with a 6-0 record, ULV quickly found itself in a 3-way tie with Pomona and
Cal Lutheran for the SCIAC lead they once solely owned.
This unfortunate happening came when the Leopards lost a 87-85 seesaw
battle with Cal Lu on Wednesday. Cal Lu, 5-1 prior to the game, came out
with an intensity level that the Leopards seemingly could not match.
"They came out and wanted the game more than us," said senior
guard Gabe Duran. "Our intensity level couldn't match theirs. We didn't
step it up."
Boesel stated that his game plan had not changed from the strategy he
used to beat the previous teams, although the Leopards were once again outrebounded
(by 10).
"You've got to come out and play every night, and once you let
that slip they kick your [butt]," said a frustrated Boesel.
Even though the Leopards lost to Cal Lutheran they still have gelled
as a team, in which time they have quietly compiled a 6-1 conference record,
which is ULV's best start in the past 10 years, and 14-4 overall.
"That [the Cal Lu loss] was just a wake-up call, and we still control
our destiny," said Duran.
ULV plays in the Supertents against Occidental tomorrow night at 7:30.
