IRVINE, Calif. – In a frisky contest that came down to the wire, Concordia freshman Jackson Tucker scored a team-high 19 points and Cameron Fini drained four three-pointers on Saturday against the University of Hawai'i at Hilo.

Freddie Dybala added 13 points and the Golden Eagles held the Vulcans to zero triples in the first half. But the Vulcans escaped with a narrow 79-75 victory.

Tucker has scored in double figures in seven of his past nine games and was just one point off of his career-high. Fini finished with 18 points and was close to matching his season-best of 22 points which came in the epic win over Holy Names.

Connor Gleason made his first career start for the Golden Eagles and added 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.  It's the third time in four games that Gleason has now scored in double figures.

Fini hit two deep threes in the first half to help CUI crawl out of an early 10-point deficit.

Dybala personally oversaw a 7-2 run during that first half burst.  Dybala hit a three off a pass from Gleason in front of the Hilo bench and then crashed the offensive glass and made an off-balance hook shot to keep it a three-point game.  On the ensuing possession, Dybala hit another turnaround jumper in the paint. 

The Golden Eagles were within four at halftime by a score of 37-33.

CUI led by as many as five in the second half after a layup by Tucker on the fast break made it 50-45 in favor of the home team.  However, Carlos Ramsey Jr. made three baskets in a span of two minutes to help the Vulcans move back in front and the visitors escaped with a four-point victory.

The Golden Eagles continue their last home stand of the year with a Thursday date with Hawai'i Pacific at 7:30 p.m. followed by Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 3:00 p.m.

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