SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Eagles men's basketball team proudly represented Concordia University Irvine in its first appearance in the NCAA DII Tournament on Friday.

Playing against the No. 3 seed Saint Martin's Saints as the No. 6 seed, Concordia proved that it belongs among the nation's best despite ultimately falling 63-60 in a close battle.

Robert Taylor drained a clutch jumper near the free throw line to put the Eagles up 58-57 with under two minutes to play in regulation.  After the Saints briefly jumped back in front, CUI senior Brian Chambers promptly scored on a driving layup to make it 60-59 in favor of the Green and Gold with about one minute left to play.

But Luke Chavez sank four free throws down the stretch and the Saints clamped down to escape with a hard-fought win. A potential game-tying three-point attempt by Kayle Knuckles was off the mark as time expired.

CUI fell behind 16-2 early in the first half before Cameron English banked in the first field goal of the game for the Green and Gold. The Eagles stayed locked in and fought their way back into the contest by playing sharp defense and focusing on rebounding while the shots weren't falling early.

Tyler Lacour came off the bench and quickly made an impact.  The senior from Fontana, Calif. converted two buckets and came up with an offensive rebound to spur a 15-6 run by the Eagles.

"Fighting through adversity, playing with heart, and playing hard and for each other is what we're all about," said Lacour.

"Even when we were down 16-2, which wasn't a great start and hurt us, I never felt like we were going to lose the game," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann. "Every team takes on its own personality, and this team really fought through adversity this entire year, probably more than any other team in my entire career. They compete at a high level when the ball's going in, and
this team battles when momentum is against us like none other."

Kyle Gray also made his presence felt with a trey and a bucket to help trim the deficit.  However, Concordia shot only 25 percent from the field in the first half and trailed 33-24 at the break.

The Eagles came out flying on defense to start the second half on a 9-2 run. After forcing a couple turnovers, Chambers set the tone with a deep three on the wing and Geoff Gerlach converted a bucket in the paint. A few dribbles later, Kayle Knuckles came up with a steal and a breakaway layup. Suddenly a nine-point margin was trimmed to just two.

Rob Taylor drove for a tough bucket to help the Eagles claw within 35-33. His free throws at the 13:44 mark gave Concordia its first lead of the contest, 38-37.  The junior from Moreno Valley, Calif. finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

The Eagles focused on attacking the basket more in the second half and were rewarded for their efforts by getting to the charity stripe.  After a technical foul was called on Saints senior Jordan Kitchen, CUI's Kyle Gray made two more freebies to give the Eagles the lead.

It was a tight contest the rest of the way. Chambers started to heat up and made a pair of treys to give the Eagles a 51-49 advantage. A few possessions later, Lacour bombed a huge three from the top of the arc to put CUI up 56-54.

That set the stage for the final two minutes where it was anyone's game right down to the final buzzer.

Chambers finished with 21 points and a team-high ten rebounds in his final game in an Eagles uniform.  Lacour finished with nine points, four rebounds and a couple steals and fellow senior Geoff Gerlach added two points and three boards.

"I love this program," said Chambers, who on Friday was named to the D2CCA First Team All-Region squad. "I wish I could be here for one more year. I felt like I left my heart out there for Concordia and I appreciate my time here."

"Coach Ken (Ammann) is a special guy," continued Lacour. "He believes in us, even when sometimes we don't believe in ourselves. That helps push our culture a lot. I wouldn't change it for anything in the world."

Concordia finished the season 23-11 overall and 18-4 in PacWest play.