Irvine Valley's men's basketball team made it a game down the stretch, but a rough start cost the Lasers in a 72-59 defeat to Orange Coast in an Orange Empire Conference opener Tuesday night at home.
Orange Coast scored the first six points of the game and led by as many as 18 points in the first half on their way to a win, which improved the Pirates' record to 8-3 overall.
Logen Howard knocked down three-pointers on OCC's first two possessions and the Pirates later took a 28-10 lead on a layup by Kyndle Terrell-Jones with 5:56 left in the first half.
Orange Coast led, 33-21, at the end of the first half.
The Pirates led by as many as 20 points midway through the second half.
But the Lasers rallied. They pulled within nine points at 63-54 with 2:12 left to play on a three-pointer by freshman guard Roman Swizek.
And IVC made it a 65-57 play with 1:17 to go after a three-point play by freshman guard Christian Griffin.
Irvine Valley just ran out of time. Turnovers were also a problem. IVC ended with 24 turnovers and Orange Coast turned those into 23 points.
Swizek led the Lasers with 21 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore post player Charlie Henderson added 13 points and nine rebounds and freshman wing Marcus Carter had eight points for IVC.
Irvine Valley's record slipped to 4-9 overall.
Orange Coast got 24 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals from Jydon Hall, 11 points from Sam Hunter and nine points each from Howard and Trent Williams.
Irvine Valley plays again on Jan. 4, 2023 in a conference match-up at district-rival Saddleback at 7 p.m.
