Box Score IRVINE, Calif. - In the final dress rehearsal before the regular season begins, the Concordia Golden Eagles snatched an 85-74 victory over the Vanguard Lions in a Saturday night exhibition.

Lance Coleman II scored 23 points for the second time this week, after leading CUI with that exact total against No. 7 UCLA.

Point guard Kobe Sanders sliced his way for 14 points and handed out five  assists while Alpha Okoli and Bryce Fitzgerald each dropped a dozen points apiece.

Returning sharpshooter Cam Fini contributed 11 points and newcomer Freddie Dybala added a team-high seven rebounds to go with seven points.

The Lions featured leading scorer Garrett White who led all players with 25 points and 10 rebounds.  Isaac Davis chipped in with 16 points and seven assists.

Vanguard is led by head coach Rhett Soliday, who is a former Concordia assistant coach and alum of the school.  Soliday was a member of the 2003 NAIA National Championship team at Concordia under head coach Ken Ammann that won the first of two national titles in the program's history.

"We have a great rivalry that goes back many years," said Ammann. "It's always a tough battle against them. The game started to slip away from us and our guys really responded well and had like six straight possessions on both sides of the floor to take the lead and close out the game. We haven't had a chance to do that yet with our new group and with these two tests this week that was the important thing. Vanguard always plays hard and it was good to see our guys find a way to get a win and get it done."

Concordia opens the regular season on the road on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Cal State Los Angeles. That game is set to tip at 5 p.m. It will be the team's first chance to secure career win No. 500 for Ammann, who enters the 2022-23 campaign with 499 career wins as Concordia's head coach since taking the helm more than two decades ago.

The Golden Eagles will hold their home opener the following Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. against another CCAA opponent, Cal State Dominguez Hills.

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