AZUSA, Calif. – The Concordia University Irvine men's basketball team had something to prove on Saturday.
The Eagles were looking to bounce back against Azusa Pacific after losing on their home floor by double digits on Friday.
CUI fell behind by ten in the first half for the second straight game against the Cougars, but this time the Green and Gold were undeterred.
The Eagles rallied and put the pressure on the Cougars. CUI showed signs of improvement and was within two points with under 10 seconds to play on Saturday, but ultimately the comeback attempt fell just short. APU escaped with a hard-fought 67-61 victory.
"Tonight left us with mixed emotions," said CUI head coach
Ken Ammann. "While it was a big step in the right direction and we competed much better, it's a shame we didn't do that four games ago and we might have been further along enough to make the plays we needed to down the stretch to get a win. It's also not good that we lowered the bar for ourselves so that a close loss here was somehow a big improvement."
"But I do want to give our guys a lot of credit for turning the momentum back in the right direction for our season," added Ammann. "When you dig yourself into a hole as deep as the one we did, it takes a full commitment from everyone to turn it, so that's a legitimate positive. For APU, Worthy was really clutch and tough down the stretch and got it done for them."
Andrew Ammann and
Jalen Sanders each hit a three-pointer late to trim a 61-53 deficit to two points with just under two minutes to play. A layup by Ammann down the stretch made it a slim 63-61 advantage for APU. But the Cougars made four clutch free throws to seal the deal.
Darius Lee and
Dayshone Henry scored 13 points apiece to pace the CUI offense. Colorado natives
Kayle Knuckles and Sanders each chipped in with 12 points as four different Eagles finished in double figures. Sanders also handed out a season-high six assists.
The Eagles were much better at shooting from long range on Saturday than they were on Friday. CUI only converted one trey in the first matchup with the Cougars, but were back on track shooting 37 percent in this contest and nailing 7 threes. Sanders was 3-for-4 from downtown while Knuckles hit two.
CUI hosts Biola this coming Friday, Feb. 5 at 4:30 p.m. following the women's contest between the two schools at 2 p.m. that afternoon. Biola will host both CUI basketball teams for a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 6 with both games slated to start at the same time.
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