IRVINE, Calif. – Sporting their crisp green and gold jerseys at home, the Concordia University Irvine men's basketball team fended off a tough Fresno Pacific squad Thursday night for a hard-fought 76-66 win.

The Eagles (21-8, 17-3 PacWest) stayed perfect at home in conference play and improved to 11-1 at CU Arena this season.

Kyle Gray crashed the boards early and often and finished with 16 points and a season-high nine rebounds. Six of his nine boards came on the offensive glass to help CUI earn extra possessions.  That hard work paid off as the Green and Gold capitalized against the Sunbirds with 22 second-chance points.

Gray finished 6-for-10 from the field and hit two treys. The 16 points for the junior from La Verne, Calif. were one off his career-high of 17 which came earlier this season against Dominican.

"Kyle was huge for us tonight," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann. "He gave us a huge lift and the entire second half, he was a difference-maker. Tonight we needed it because the shots weren't falling. We had really, really good looks from three that just didn't go with our best shooters in rhythm – everything we want, but sometimes it just doesn't go in.

"That's why we try to rely on our defense to win games whether we're making shots or not," continued Ammann. "It can be discouraging and we didn't let it bother us at all.  Our guys did a great job of not letting that dip their energy on defense and I was really pleased with that."

The Eagles hounding defense helped Fresno Pacific commit 25 turnovers over the course of the contest.  Those mistakes by the visitors led to 29 points for CUI.

PacWest Defender of the Week Brian Chambers equaled Gray with 16 points to lead the offense. Jamel White dished out a team-best seven assists and came up with six steals while Robert Taylor and Geoff Gerlach each added 10 points.

Cameron English also patrolled the paint and finished with nine points and an emphatic block that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

Concordia hosts Chaminade in a crucial game this Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m.  The Silverswords and Eagles are still vying for a first-round bye at the upcoming PacWest Tournament and trying to finish as one of the top two seeds in the league along with first-place Point Loma.  Saturday will mark the final home basketball doubleheader of the year for the Eagles and fans are encouraged to wear white as part of a "White-Out" promotion on Senior Night.

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