Irvine Valley's men's basketball team fell to LA Valley, 67-58, in a hard-fought nonconference game Saturday night at home.
The contest featured two of the top-25 ranked teams in the state. LA Valley was ranked No. 15 with IVC at No. 24 in the latest coaches state poll.
The two squads also had a combined three losses.
IVC took the defeat Saturday, seeing its record slip to 10-3 overall. LA Valley improved to 12-1 overall.
The Lasers took an early lead.
Two free throws by sophomore wing Christian Louis put IVC ahead, 12-8, with 15:28 left in the half.
And a three-pointer by freshman guard Devin Owens gave Irvine Valley a 18-17 lead with 9:28 to go in the half.
But the Lasers had trouble scoring the rest of the first half, managing just six points over the last nine and a half minutes.
A layup by Jonas Holt put LA Valley up, 19-18. The Monarchs never trailed again. The Layup was part of a 6-0 run for LA Valley.
And LA Valley out-scored IVC, 14-6, to close out the half.
The Monarchs scored the first six points of the second half and took a 35-24 lead on two free throws by Johnnie Coleman.
IVC rallied and tied the score at 35 on a layup by freshman guard Aaron Strings with 16:03 to play.
And the Lasers were within 41-39 on a basket by Louis with 14:47 to play.
But LA Valley went on a 7-0 run to take control. A layup by Ivan Chmyrenko put the Monarchs ahead, 48-39, with 13:31 left.
IVC got only as close as four points the rest of the way.
A three-pointer by Kody Knox put LA Valley ahead, 61-52, with 2:28 left.
The Lasers were paced by Louis and sophomore forward Austin Carter.
Louis finished with 15 points before fouling out late and Carter worked for 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Sean Murphy ended up with eight points and Owens chipped in eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
LA Valley was led by Knox, who had 19 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Coleman added 18 points, four rebounds and six assists, Holt had 11 points and LeAndre McIntyre Jr. finished with 10 points and six rebounds for the Monarchs.
IVC is back in action next Friday when it plays host to Golden West in an Orange Empire Conference game at 6 p.m.
