LOS ANGELES — Zach Baines took over the game in the second half, finishing with 27 points, as the Occidental men's basketball team won at La Verne 79-57 on Monday.

Every time it looked like the Leopards were going to make a push to to cut into Oxy's double digit lead in the second half, Baines came up with a big bucket, usually taking the ball to the basket.

Baines, a 6-foot-5 junior wing, finished the game 11 for 18 from the field, was 1 for 1 from three, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists as the Leopards keyed their attention toward him.

Baines was one of four Tigers in double figures. Jeevin Sandhu was 5 for 11 for 12 points, two assists and five rebounds off the bench, Austin DeWitz had a double double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Jonny Crosthwaite had 11 points, including some clutch free throws in the second half when Oxy got into the bonus.

Oxy point guard Ryan Kaneshiro finished with eight points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four blocks, two steals and just one turnover. 

Caleb Yellin-Flaherty had eight points, four rebounds and a pair of assists with no turnovers. As a group, Oxy had just nine turnovers for the game and 17 assists. 

Connor Head led the Leopards with 12 points and Evan Gustafson added eight.

Oxy jumped out to a 41-23 lead by halftime with its defense limiting the Leopards to just 29 percent shooting in the first half. 

The Tigers outrebounded La Verne 45-32 and didn't allow a point in the final 5 minutes of the game. 

Season Impact: Oxy improves to 10-2 overall and 3-0.

La Verne is 0-11 and 0-4.

Next Game: Oxy returns home to play Caltech at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.