IRVINE, Calif. – A rare home opener in December turned out to be the exact boost that the Concordia University Irvine men's basketball team needed on Saturday.

Three Golden Eagles scored in double figures and CUI grinded out a critical 64-61 win over Domincan to improve to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in PacWest Conference play.

Tim Adetukasi led the Golden Eagles with 14 points, a career-high six steals and a team-high six rebounds but this was not a one-man show. The Concordia bench combined for 20 points and nearly half of the squad's 29 rebounds.

Freddie Dybala turned in a strong all-around effort and contributed a season-high 13 points and a ton of smart plays that do not necessarily show up in the box score. The Centennial High School alum from nearby Corona, Calif. finished a game-best +17 from the floor.

Guard Connor Gleason joined him on the offensive attack with nine of his 13 points coming before halftime.

This marked the third straight conference game that Gleason has scored 13 points. The Capistrano Valley High School alum is now averaging over 10 points per contest.

A floater by Dybala put CUI ahead 60-57 with under four minutes to go.  After Dale Currie tied it with a trey, Adetukasi converted an off-balance layup in traffic to break the 60-60 tie with barely 90 seconds remaining.  That wound up being the game-winning basket as Dybala sank two free throws to ice the game and CUI's defense prevailed down the stretch.

"We picked each other up, we trusted each other and got it done," said Dybala. "We competed as brothers, and I was just trying to give everything I could to our team."

A pivotal stretch came midway through the first half after Dominican built a 19-12 lead. CUI rattled off an 11-0 run sparked by a pair of steals and breakaway dunks by Tim Adetukasi. 

Adetukasi has now scored in double figures in seven of his first nine games as a Golden Eagle.

Jackson Tucker, Kobe Sanders and Jonah Tolmaire combined for 10 assists as CUI focused on moving the ball to combat Dominican's match-up zone defense.  Tucker and Sanders each hit a pair of threes to help the cause as well.

CUI also had a big advantage at the charity stripe by shooting 12-for-15 on free throws. Dominican finished just 4-for-12 on freebies.

"Those are hard games," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann. "Our bench was really key. Jonah Tolmaire came in and gave us big minutes, Freddie, Javier Gallardo, really everyone gave us a big spark by doing lots of things that don't show up (in the box score). Dominican made a ton of plays, it came down to the wire and we made probably just a couple more in a hard-fought game."

After playing their first eight regular season games on the road or at a neutral site, the Golden Eagles continue their five-game home stand on Monday, Dec. 18 against Academy of Art.  It's a quick turnaround with the Urban Knights coming to Irvine within 48 hours of the final buzzer sounding against Dominican.

The CUI men will play Academy of Art at 3:30 p.m. on Monday following the women's contest which is slated to tip-off at 1 p.m. at Concordia.

CLICK HERE for the full CUI men's basketball schedule