Irvine Valley's men's basketball team had its chances last Friday night in an Orange Empire Conference game at Riverside.
The Lasers led, 41-28, at the half and looked to be in control.
But IVC was out-scored by the Tigers, 38-20, in the second half and ended up falling, 66-61.
Irvine Valley's record went to 10-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play. Riverside snapped a 10-game losing streak with the victory and improved its record to 4-12 overall and 1-3 in the OEC.
The Lasers shot 55.2 percent (16 of 29) in the opening half from the field as a team and went 6 of 12 from three-point range to take a 13-point lead into the break.
But Irvine Valley struggled in the second half, making just 6 of 21 shots (28.6 percent).
Riverside went on a 21-4 run to open the second half and took a 49-45 advantage.
Irvine Valley regained the lead at 53-52 on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Roman Swizek with 8:23 remaining in the contest.
And IVC was ahead, 55-54, 6:04 to play after two free throws by sophomore guard David Ogunlade.
A three-pointer by sophomore post player Jesse Stines kept IVC in front at 58-56 with 3:37 to go.
But Riverside took the lead for good at 60-58 after a layup by Shaquille Samuels with 2:21 remaining.
And the Tigers closed out the game on a 10-3 run.
Irvine Valley was led by Swizek, who finished with 19 points. Stines added 15 points, five rebounds and four blocks, Ogunlade had 12 points and four assists and sophomore wing Jose Acevedo chipped in nine points for IVC.
Riverside got 21 points and six rebounds from Darius McClain and 17 points and 12 rebounds from Deacon Toliver.
Irvine Valley plays again next Wednesday, traveling to Santa Ana for a 5 p.m. contest.
