Riverside, Calif. - The men's basketball team opened their 2017-18 campaign with an 86-76 loss to Life Pacific College, on Wednesday evening. The Golden Eagles were unable to overcome 21 turnovers and poor free-throw shooting in their opener. The team will look to break into the win column on Saturday night in another non-conference game.

The first half was a back and forth affair with 17 lead changes and five tie scores. By the end of the first half, the Warriors held a 39-38 lead that they would never give up.

Early in the second half, the Warriors went on a run and pushed the lead to double-digits. The Golden Eagles spent the rest of the second half looking to cut into the lead. After putting together a mini-run of their own, La Sierra was able to cut the lead to seven points in the final minutes of play, but that proved to be as close as they would get, with the Warriors hanging on for the victory.

The Golden Eagles did have a balanced attack with Reynaldo Solorzano leading the way with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Freshmen DJ Everage matched the team-high with 12 points, on 5-of 10 shooting. Cameron Jackson and Zac Phororo each pitched in with 11 points, while three others (Isaac Deese, Garret Thompson, and Kenny Lewis) each scored eight points. Everage also finished with team-highs of four assists and three steals.

However the Golden Eagles were unable to take advantage of their trips to the charity stripe in the second half. After connecting on four of their five attempts in the first half, La Sierra shot 12-for-21 in the second half, to finish the game at 62%.

The men's basketball team will hit the road for their first road game of the season on Saturday night when they travel to El Cajon, Calif. The Golden Eagles will play the second game of a double-header versus San Diego Christian College. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 8:30pm, following the preceding women's game at 6:30pm.