IRVINE, Calif. – Concordia University Irvine clinched a spot in the PacWest Conference Championships on Wednesday by evading the Holy Names Hawks in a gritty, high-scoring affair.
Six Eagles scored in double figures in an extremely impressive and balanced outing. CUI erased an 11-point deficit in the first half and it was neck-and-neck for the majority of the second half.
Joshua Caston paced CUI with a team-high 23 points and sank three free throws in the final seconds to ice the game.
Kobe Sanders dished out a career-high 12 assists while controlling the tempo at the point and cashing in for 13 points as well. His brother
Jalen Sanders added 19 points, posted a career-high 12 rebounds and also came up with three emphatic blocks in the second half.
"We gave up a ton of points at the beginning of both halves so to come back from that and win the game is remarkable," said CUI head coach
Ken Ammann. "Very proud of our team for finding a way when it was that hard. We made a lot of plays especially on offense."
Kayle Knuckles and
Matthew Weyand each connected from downtown to help the cause with three triples. They both finished with 13 points apiece and teamed with
Matthew Brookins and
Jalen Sanders on the inside to play stellar defense against the Hawks when they drove into the paint.
Rodrick McCobb was again a steady presence and efficient with his shooting while pouring in 12 points.
"Matt Brookins and
Matthew Weyand were huge tonight for us and gave us great minutes off the bench," added Ammann. "We don't get the win without them."
The Eagles fell behind 30-19 midway through the first half as the Hawks came out playing in rhythm.
But CUI righted the ship by racking up the rebounds and working the ball for good shots that started to fall as the two teams approached halftime.
Weyand entered and hit back-to-back threes to give CUI an immediate lift. A few minutes later,
Jalen Sanders hit a floater in the paint to tie the game up at 41. Then on the next possession,
Kobe Sanders dribbled the defense to sleep and hit a wide-open Caston underneath the basket for an easy layup to give CUI a 43-41 lead. Knuckles then joined the scoring barrage with a clutch triple to put the Green and Gold in front 46-41 at intermission.
Concordia's opponent in the first round of the PacWest Conference Championships is still to be determined depending on how the seeds fall. The conference tournament field expanded to eight teams for just this year for both the men's and women's brackets and will be hosted by Fresno Pacific.
Tickets for the conference tournament are available for purchase HERE and fans should be aware that *Masks ARE required* in Fresno if you are planning on attending any of the basketball games at the PacWest Conferenece Championships.
The Eagles will finish the regular season this week with a rematch against the Hawks on Thursday night before hosting Senior Night on Saturday against Azusa Pacific. Both men's games begin at 7:30 p.m. following the women's contests at 5 p.m.
CLICK HERE for the full CUI men's basketball schedule
