Box Score

LA VERNE, Calif. – Coby Proctor's (Jr., Sublimity, Ore.) buzzer-beating three-pointer kept Pacific alive in their 2013-14 men's basketball season opener Friday night, but La Verne dominated the extra period to score a 72-63 overtime win at the La Verne Sports Pavilion.
 
The Leopards came back from as much as an eight-point first half deficit to lead late.  La Verne appeared to have the game won when Brett Stephan hit a three-pointer with four seconds left, but Proctor managed to find the basket on the ensuing possession to force overtime.  Pacific went cold in the extra stanza, going 0 for 6 from the field and were outscored 11-2.
 
Daniel Zitani (Sr., Oakland, Calif.) had a big night for the Boxers, leading all scorers with 28 points on 10 of 13 from the field and 8 of 11 from the free throw line.  Proctor added 10 points off the bench while Mitch Wettig (Jr., Bend, Ore.) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.  Pacific shot 45.7 percent from the field for the game and connected on 52 percent during regulation.  The Boxers also finished 18 of 24 from the free throw line.
 
Ronn See paced La Verne (1-0) with 17 points on 7 of 9 from the field and scored 13 in the second half.  Brett Stephan scored 12 points and Alonzo Young connected for 10 to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.  La Verne shot 45 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe while out-rebounding the Boxers 35-29.
 
Pacific opened the contest by scoring the first six points and took the 6-0 lead on a pair of back-to-back short jumpers by Zitani.  The Leopards climbed back to within one before the Boxers jumped on 7-0 run.  Zitani's lay-in at the 9:44 mark gave Pacific what would be their biggest lead of the game, 13-5.
 
The lead was still eight points with 5:09 left, but La Verne outscored the Boxers 11-6 to close the half. Young's lay-in with one second left brought the Leopards to within 24-21 at the half.
 
The Leopards took their first lead of the game when Stephan's jumper made it 25-24 one minute into the second half.  They extended the lead to six on a pair of Young free throws at the 14:58 mark before the Boxers went on a 10-4 run, regaining a four-point advantage on Riley Grandinetti's (Jr., Murray, Utah) three-pointer with 12:37 left.
 
The lead changed five times before La Verne built a three-point lead on Stephan's lay-up with 2:25 to go.  The Boxers managed to tie the game at 58-58 on two Landon Littlefield (So., Henderson, Nev.) free throws with 10 seconds left before the teams traded late three-pointers to force overtime.
 
Pacific couldn't find the bucket in the extra period.  La Verne, meanwhile, took advantage of every opportunity given, going 5 of 6 from the free throw line and scoring five of their points on second chance baskets.
 
Pacific continues their three-game Southern California road trip on Saturday, placing at Caltech at 5 p.m.