AZUSA, Calif. – There was a lot at stake on Thursday evening as Concordia University Irvine traveled to Azusa Pacific for a key matchup.

CUI began the week as the last undefeated PacWest men's basketball team in conference play with a 5-0 league record. Both the Eagles and Cougars entered their conference clash with identical 11-3 records and were tied for second in the D2 West Regional rankings. The Cougars started the week ranked No. 20 in the D2SIDA National Poll and No. 21 in the NABC Coaches Poll, while the Eagles were also receiving votes in both polls.

The two squads were clearly amped up to get on the court but unfortunately for the Green and Gold, they dug themselves an early hole as the Cougars raced out to a 17-2 lead. APU got in a groove and shot a sizzling 68.5 percent from the field, which made it extremely difficult for CUI to catch up. The Cougars ultimately prevailed 95-62 to snap the Green and Gold's seven-game winning streak.

Andre Green had nine points and Cameron English added six off the bench before the halftime buzzer but the Cougars still led 42-30 at the break.

Rob McCoy came alive in the second half, scoring 15 of his team-high 18 points after intermission. He did his best to attack the rim and get to the foul line and added a season-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the year.

But the Eagles (11-4, 5-1 PacWest) as a whole struggled to get comfortable and shot just 34.5 percent from the field. It was one of those games where the Eagles were using their full court press and forcing turnovers, but the Cougars (12-3, 7-2 PacWest) kept countering with three-pointers and buckets near the rim to extend their lead throughout the evening. CUI shot 4-for-18 (22 percent) from three-point land while APU was on fire from downtown and sank 11 of 19 attempts from long range (58 percent).

"We let them dictate everything in every way on both ends of the floor and didn't compete hard enough to turn the momentum," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann. "Conversely, Azusa was very well prepared and dominated us in every aspect of the game. We need to get tougher, play harder and compete together at a much higher level. I believe we well."

Green finished with 13 points and is now just 15 away from reaching 1,000 for his college career.

He will get the chance to reach that milestone when the Eagles play their fourth straight road game this Monday, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. at Fresno Pacific. CUI handled the Sunbirds in their first meeting by a score of 99-79 when the two squads met in Irvine last month.

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