SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Seven up, seven down.

The Concordia University Irvine men's basketball team emerged with a 70-65 win on Saturday over Academy of Art to complete its stay up in the Bay Area with its second victory of the week and seventh consecutive win in a row.

Jalen Sanders poured in a team-high 19 points and posted a +14 to lead the offensive attack. His clutch trey broke a 59-59 tie with just under three minutes to play and put CUI ahead to stay.

Senior point guard Jamel White then hit five free throws down the stretch to help seal the deal. The Louisiana native finished with 11 points and dished out a team-best seven assists, which included his pass to Sanders for the important three-pointer that made it 62-59.

"Jalen had one of his best games and Jamel made some big plays down the stretch to get our lead back when they tied it up late in the game," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann. "ART U is the most physical team in the league and that was a tough fight. We needed a ton of focus and effort to get that done today. Stops, rebounds and baskets were very difficult to get today and we had to work hard for each one."

The Eagles (11-3, 5-0 PacWest) built an eight-point lead by the break and were in front by as many as ten early in the second half after a bucket by Rob McCoy. But the Urban Knights (4-9, 2-4 PacWest) rallied to tie the game late in the second behind Stefan Milivojevic. He was the only ART U player to score in double figures with 19 points.

Aside from Milivojevic, the Eagles did a great job locking down on defense. CUI forced 24 turnovers while only giving the ball away only 14 times. Those extra ten possessions wound up being crucial and helped the Eagles stay perfect in PacWest play.

"All of us were focused in on what we had to do," said Darius Lee, who also provided a lift with 11 points off the bench. "We are really starting to catch our stride with everyone and seems like we are getting better each day."

Andre Green also swiped five steals to lead his squad in that category and finished a +11 with nine points. Mike Mellinger added seven points and was a +12 during his time on the court.

"It feels good to be able to get down and grind in crunch time and come out of there with a W," explained Mellinger. "You can feel the atmosphere is more fun and easier to watch when everyone is playing really hard. We love a good road win."

The Eagles will return home to start classes on Monday before heading back out on the road for a Thursday affair on Jan. 9 over at Azusa Pacific. Tip-off is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. in Azusa following the women's game which is slated to begin at 5:15 p.m.

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