IRVINE, Calif. – Tim Adetukasi scored 20 points, Jackson Tucker added 15 and the Concordia University Irvine men's basketball team clamped down on defense to fend off Azusa Pacific 65-56 on Saturday evening.

The victory means CUI became the first team in the PacWest Conference to earn its fourth win in league play.  The Golden Eagles closed out the calendar year with a 7-4 overall record and a 4-1 mark in conference games. 

CUI scored 20 points off a total of 16 APU turnovers.  The Golden Eagles also flew towards the rim early and often, and it showed as ultimately 38 of their 65 points came in the paint.

One of the highlights of the first half was when sophomore Jackson Tucker picked up a loose ball and bolted right for the cup, dribbled behind his back and then still sunk a driving, off-balance layup to the delight of the home crowd. CLICK HERE to watch the highlight!

Another exciting bucket came on the heels of another steal in the second half. Adetukasi came up with a steal and then converted a tough left-handed layup around two APU defenders to keep CUI comfortably in front. The Golden Eagles led by double digits for most of the contest after going up 18-8 in the early going.

Center Javier Gallardo played big minutes and while the box score will show he contributed seven points and seven rebounds, his presence was an even bigger difference-maker on the court.
Kobe Sanders dished out six assists, including a pretty dime on a duck-in by Gallardo in the second half.

Upperclassmen guards Jonah Tolmaire and Connor Gleason also proved they were up to the task of making things uncomfortable whenever the Cougars tried to setup their offense.

"We had a great team effort and focus on the defensive end, along with some great contributions off the bench," said CUI assistant coach Nolan Abernathy. "That's a really, really good shooting team that we held to four threes and made almost everything difficult for them."

"Shots weren't falling at times but we just kept grinding and doing what we do," added CUI assistant coach Joe Wrinkle. "We continued to guard and we didn't let any lack of scoring affect us on the defensive end."

Concordia led by eight at halftime and never trailed the entire contest.

CUI continues its five-game home stand over Christmas break with first-place Hawai'i Hilo in town Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m.  Chaminade visits Concordia on Thursday, Jan 4 at 7:30 p.m. following the women's contest.

Admission is Free on both Tuesday night and Thursday evening for both home basketball doubleheaders against the Vulcans and Silverswords.

CLICK HERE for the updated CUI men's basketball schedule