IRVINE, Calif. – The first home CUI men's basketball game played in front of fans in 21 months featured many exciting moments.

Concordia University Irvine opened the regular season against The Master's University on Friday and saw a trio of new Eagles carry the load offensively.  With the newly formed "Flight Club" cheering section of students going wild, the Green and Gold raced out to a 41-31 lead at the break behind 15 first-half points from Rodrick McCobb.

Joining McCobb in double figures on the day was leading scorer Wayne Arnold. The Cal State Fullerton transfer cashed in on five of his nine attempts from downtown and finished with a team-best 24 points.  Graduate student Joshua Caston added 18 points and McCobb finished with 16 on the evening.

CLICK HERE for some of the best pictures from Friday's home opener!

The Mustangs fought back in the second half to get back into the contest and for awhile it was a back-and-forth seesaw battle.

Arnold showed off his shooting prowess by knocking down some deep treys to wow the crowd. Caston nearly brought the house down on a dunk after driving through the lane midway through the second half and both teams capitalized off turnovers on the fastbreak. But the Mustangs were able to escape with a 79-76 victory behind 25 points from Davian Brown.

The contest also featured the first time brothers Jalen Sanders and Kobe Sanders played together for CUI.  The duo combined for nine points and ten rebounds and older brother Jalen also added a pair of steals and two blocks to fill out the stat sheet.

The Eagles shot 38 percent from three-point land (11-for-29) but were outrebounded by 13. 

Concordia will host Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday at 5 p.m. as the weekend tournament continues at CU Arena. The Golden Eagles lost to Biola on Friday evening and Biola will face The Master's at 7 p.m. following the clash between Concordia and CSULA.

CLICK HERE for the full CUI men's basketball schedule