IRVINE, Calif. – The Concordia University Irvine men's basketball team gained some confidence with an 82-76 home victory over Trevecca Nazarene before starting Thanksgiving break.

Concordia senior Rob McCoy led all scorers with 26 points and shot 8-for-15 from the field. He added three steals and knocked down eight of his ten free throw attempts to pace the offense.

Andre Green also helped set the tone on defense and contributed 12 points. Darius Lee and Mike Mellinger each added a dozen points to help the cause.

Mellinger personally oversaw an 8-0 run to spark the Green and Gold immediately after he checked in to the game in the first half. CUI quickly grabbed a 16-6 advantage.

A few dribbles later, McCoy came up with a steal and Lee finished the play with a smooth dunk to boost CUI to a 20-9 lead. Lee and McCoy both finished +15 on the evening which was tied for the best plus/minus on the squad.

The Eagles led by as many as 15 in the first half after Cameron English knocked down a jumper. The senior from Oregon added six points off the bench to help CUI's reserves outscore Trevecca Nazarene 32-19.

"They (the reserves) are going to be a huge part of what we do all year long," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann. "I thought we did a good job the last couple games battling through tough moments and staying together, staying poised, and finding a way to win."

While the Eagles threatened to make the game a blowout, the Trojans worked their way back into the contest by drilling a handful of timely layups. Reed Smith converted a bucket to tie the game late at 68 with under three minutes to play.

However, the Eagles were in the double bonus and earned their way to the charity stripe to get some easy points. McCoy knocked down a pair of freebies, Andre Green nearly made a trey while getting fouled before sinking three free throws, and Jamel White knocked down four in a row to help ice the game.

"I was proud of us since we didn't pull away when we had a chance to and then we found a way to win the game," said Ammann. "(The Trojans) got really confident and hot from the outside and when a team gets in that mode, it's tough to slow them down so we definitely did a good job getting enough stops to get it done."

CUI also came up with 10 steals and helped force 22 turnovers, while only giving away the ball nine times.

"We did a better job pressuring the passing lane than we've been doing which showed in the turnovers," continued Ammann. "We took care of the ball better tonight too, especially in the first half. We are moving in the right direction."

The Eagles will enjoy Thanksgiving break and then return to campus in December to prepare for their conference opener. Concordia opens up PacWest play on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. against Hawai'i Hilo.

"We've got conference coming up," added Mellinger. "So we are going to rest and take a couple days off, get back in the gym and turn it up a whole 'nother level."

For the full CUI men's basketball schedule, click here.