Irvine Valley's men's basketball team played its best game of the season so far and it came in front of its home fans.
The Lasers, playing in their home opener, defeated Southwestern, 75-58, in a nonconference game on Friday night.
Irvine Valley improved its record to 3-1 overall, while Southwestern fell to 2-3.
Irvine Valley got a game-high 23 points and 15 rebounds from freshman forward Jake Linsky in the victory. He also had two assists, two blocks and one steal in 32 minutes of action.
Freshman forward Cameron Griffin added 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks and sophomore forward Zane Paddon came off the bench with 14 big points.
Paddon made 2 of 2 three-pointer attempts and also chipped in three rebounds.
Sophomore guard Daniel Hernandez finished with nine points and three assists, sophomore forward Parker Sims stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks and freshman guard Kevin Olsen came off the bench with a team-high six assists for IVC.
Irvine Valley shot 51.6 percent (32 of 62) from the field in the win and helped hold Southwestern to just 40.8 percent (20 of 49) shooting.
The Lasers never trailed in the contest. They led, 40-27, at the half and were up by as many as 26 points in the second half.
Southwestern was paced by Quincy Ferebee, who had 12 points, four assists and four rebounds and Emilio Arrellano, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Irvine Valley plays again next Thursday when it opens its own Irvine Valley Classic. The Lasers take on Cuyamaca at 6 p.m. in the eight-team, three-day tournament.
