Irvine Valley's men's basketball team was out-scored by seven points in the second half and fell to Orange coast, 69-67, in an Orange Empire Conference opening game Wednesday night at home.
The Lasers shot 51.9 percent (14 of 27) in the first half and took a 39-34 lead into the break, but were cold in the second half, making just 9 of 25 shots (36.0 percent).
IVC also hurt itself at the line in the game, knocking down just 12 of 20 free throw attempts.
Sophomore guard Isaiah Mahmud led Irvine Valley with 20 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench.
Sophomore guard Geoff Salas added 15 points. He went 5 of 5 from the field, including making all three of his three-point attempts.
And freshman forward Sadiq Muhammad chipped in 10 points and five rebounds for Irvine Valley.
Orange Coast was paced by Jonathan Ileleji with 17 points and three steals. Malik Skillern added 14 points and three assists and Nate Harding contributed 11 points for the Pirates, who improved their record to 3-14 overall and 1-0 in conference.
Irvine Valley saw its record slip to 3-14 overall and 0-1 in conference.
The Lasers play again on Friday, hosting the top-ranked team in the state, Fullerton, in a conference game at 5 p.m.
