MALIBU, Calif. – For the first time in program history, the Concordia University Irvine men's basketball team had the chance to face the Pepperdine Waves on Wednesday.

Pepperdine is a NCAA Division I program that had already played half a dozen contests during this unorthodox 2020-21 season.  Even though the Eagles counted the game as an exhibition, it was an opportunity for the Green and Gold to see how they measure up against a talented opponent before the upcoming Christmas break.

Right from the opening tip, the Eagles showed they came to play.

CUI came out strong shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half.  Darius Lee and Kayle Knuckles started the scoring for the Eagles with buckets in the paint to give CUI the early 5-2 lead.  The Green and Gold led 7-6 at the first media timeout and did a good job boxing out on defensive rebounds against their Division I foes.

Coming off a 28-point outburst in CUI's first exhibition game against Westmont, Dominic Hovasse added 13 points for the Eagles. The transfer from San Diego City College knocked down a big three-pointer to tie the game at 25 in the first half. The Waves (4-3) made sure to keep an eye on him whenever he touched the ball which opened up shots for some of his teammates.

One of the beneficiaries was Dayshone Henry. The talented 6'7" forward showed off a variety of moves and finished with a team-high 21 points to pace the offense.  A breakaway dunk off a bounce pass from Andrew Ammann was part of a 7-0 run that cut Pepperdine's lead to 38-34 late in the first period. The Waves led the Eagles 42-36 at the break.

"Dayshone is very talented and made a lot of big plays for us tonight," said CUI assistant coach Casey Norris. "Hovasse is a constant leader and playmaker on both ends. We love coaching them both."

Knuckles came alive in the second half offensively and scored 11 of his 16 points after the intermission. But the Waves pulled away and were able to secure the victory, 91-68.

The two programs are led by two head coaches that each have collected more than 400 wins in their careers. CUI's Ken Ammann (485 wins) also served as an assistant coach on Pepperdine head coach Lorenzo Romar's staff in the late 1990s before coming to Concordia. Romar became a household name while spending 15 seasons at the University of Washington before returning to Pepperdine for a second stint. Ammann has led the Eagles to 20 wins or more in 16 of his first 19 seasons at the helm in Irvine.

However, Coach Ammann was unable to make the trip.  He decided to stay home as a precaution after a member of his household tested positive for COVID-19.  Norris filled in on the sideline in his place.

"I felt like we measured up well and competed for 40 minutes," said Norris. "Weird circumstances with Ken not being there but our guys battled and thought their effort was great. We will use that to prepare for the rest of the season."

"I couldn't be more proud of the poise and effort our men showed," said Ammann. "This has been a year full of challenges and tonight was no different. Pepperdine is one of the best D1's in the West and made us pay for virtually every mistake on either end. But overall I'm very pleased with where we are at so far."

"Give that Concordia team a lot of credit," said Romar. "They were together, they worked hard and they played (well) and they did a good job."

The PacWest Conference is targeting a return to play in late January.  CUI will be facing its three Southern California foes from Biola, Azusa Pacific and Point Loma as the league is focused on playing in regional pods to help reduce travel time and costs in the coming months.

So far, the only PacWest men's basketball teams to compete this season have been CUI and Fresno Pacific. Each have played multiple exhibitions in early December.

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