BELMONT, Calif. – The Eagles opened up a new decade of basketball with a dominating defensive performance on the road to earn an emphatic 82-49 win over the Notre Dame de Namur Argonauts.

Concordia University Irvine secured its sixth straight victory and remained unbeaten in PacWest Conference play. The Eagles are now 10-3 overall and 4-0 against league opponents.

The Eagles led by a dozen at the break before pouring it on in the second half. Redshirt sophomore Kayle Knuckles led the Eagles in both points (12) and rebounds (7). But it was a balanced scoring attack for CUI with seniors Rob McCoy and Kyle Gray scoring 10 points apiece and Austin Clarke adding nine off the bench.

"We have had a lot of 10 point leads this season and have rarely stayed focused and extended them," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann. "I was really impressed with our entire team's preparation and focus for this game. Best job also this season at sharing the ball and our assist-to-turnover ratio shows the unselfish mindset our guys came into the game with."

Jamel White led the squad with six assists and avoided turning the ball over as well while running the point. Thursday's performance also marked the fifth straight game the Eagles have scored to least 82 points on the offensive end.

CUI's defense was superb and allowed a season-low 49 points. The Eagles clawed their way to 12 steals and ultimately forced 18 turnovers while only turning the ball over seven times themselves.

"We really locked in on defense and tried to focus on getting one defensive stop at a time," said Gray. "As a group, our key is to put all our focus on being the best defensive team we can be. We are also focused on not letting our offense affect our defense."

When Clarke drilled a three-pointer while getting fouled late in the second half and completed a four-point play it stretched the Eagles advantage to 76-41. Clarke's trey on the following trip down pushed the lead to 38 which was the largest advantage of the night for the Green and Gold.

"It's a blessing to start 2020 with a win, especially it being a road win," said Gray. "Every game is equally important no matter who we play."

The Green and Gold visit Academy of Art on Saturday, Jan. 4. That game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. tip-off.

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