IRVINE, Calif. – Charlie Dalton and Tim Adetukasi each collected double-doubles on Saturday to help propel Concordia University Irvine to a physical 69-62 victory over Westmont.
 
Kobe Sanders drained his first four three-point shots from the outside and Adetukasi made his first four field goals inside the arc to help CUI race out to an 18-9 lead.
 
After Sanders put on that early shooting display from downtown Irvine, Dalton took over midway through the first half. The freshman attacked the rim consistently and ultimately registered the first double-double of his young career. His 18 points and 15 rebounds were both career-highs.
 
Meanwhile, Adetukasi was once again a calming, consistent presence on the floor and finished with a game-high 23 points along with 11 boards. 13 of those points came before halftime.
 
"There hasn't been a player in the league that's played as well as he has on both ends of the floor night after night," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann after Adetukasi's latest solid outing. "He's the best two-way player in the conference in my opinion."
 
Adetukasi and Dalton were notably aggressive in trying to get in to the heart of the Westmont defense and their hustle was contagious as they extended multiple possessions. They each had three offensive rebounds and the home crowd loved the effort it saw from all of their Golden Eagles.
 
CUI led 38-32 at intermission but this was no cakewalk. After Westmont opened the second half with a 12-5 surge, Dalton and Adetukasi helped keep CUI in the game with drives to the basket.

The teams went back-and-forth for a handful of possessions and Westmont led by as many as five points before CUI got a ton of stops on the defensive end.

"Freddy (Dybala) had some big plays for us on defense and was a huge part of that win," continued Ammann. "We had a hard time getting stops the whole game but in that one stretch, they had a really tough time scoring on us, and that was the key to the game."
 
"I'm so proud of our whole team, the way we competed," added Ammann. "Westmont is a talented team and when they took the lead, we didn't panic and we grinded them down from that point forward. That was a great win for us."
 
The game marked the first men's basketball game between Concordia and Westmont since the Warriors joined the PacWest Conference as a new NCAA DII school.
 
"For us it's about being the toughest team and being consistent out there," said Dalton. "We want to be the tougher team, and tried to get them out of their sets. They are a very fast team and I think we eventually slowed them down in the second half."
 
The Golden Eagles are back home again next Saturday, Jan. 20 against Fresno Pacific during Hall of Fame Induction weekend. The women play first at 2 p.m. and the men's game will follow at 4:30 p.m. 

CLICK HERE for the full CUI men's basketball schedule

CUI Athletics will introduce the Kenneth A. Walker Hall of Fame Class of 2024 in a ceremony at 11 a.m. before the basketball doubleheader. The new inductees will also be recognized during halftime of the men's game along with the school's annual "6th Man" promotion that recognizes all CUI alumni and donors.

CLICK HERE to read more about the CUI Athletics Hall Of Fame Class of 2024