The Irvine Valley men's basketball team battled back in the second half, but it wasn't enough in a 57-45 Orange Empire Conference loss at Riverside on Wednesday night.
Irvine Valley got itself into a hole in the first half and trailed, 33-18, at the break.
The Lasers were down by as many as 20 points in the second half before responding. IVC pulled within 10 points at 42-32 with 12:20 remaining on a jumper by sophomore post player Charlie Henderson.
But IVC couldn't get any closer.
Irvine Valley's record fell to 4-19 overall and 0-11 in conference, while Riverside improved to 15-9 overall and 8-3 in conference.
The Lasers were led by Henderson with 17 points and five rebounds.
Freshman guard Luke Farrington added 10 points and five rebounds.
The Tigers were paced by Reggie Ward with 20 points and six rebounds in the win.
Irvine Valley plays again on Friday in a conference game at Santa Ana at 5 p.m.
