IRVINE, Calif. – Both the Concordia University Irvine and Hawai'i Hilo men's basketball teams showed their defensive chops on Tuesday night, as neither team was able to score more than 27 points in one half.

Concordia erased an eight-point deficit in the second half and tied the game with under 30 seconds remaining when Kobe Sanders converted a driving layup in heavy traffic while falling to the ground.

With overtime looking like a strong possibility, Hawai'i Hilo called timeout and was able to get a last-second bucket on a drive by Carlos Ramsey Jr. with just one second left on the clock.  A Hail Mary heave was not meant to be and the visiting Vulcans escaped with a 53-51 win despite a gritty effort by the Golden Eagles.

Both teams got after it defensively and refused to let the other squad get in a rhythm on offense. CUI and UHH both shot under 25 percent from three-point land and as a result found more success in the paint and on jumpers around the free throw stripe and along the base line.

"We defended well and held a good team to 53 points, but we just took too many bad shots and couldn't get comfortable on offense and I think Hilo had a lot to do with that," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann.

CUI stayed neck-and-neck with UHH even though leading scorer Tim Adetukasi wound up in foul trouble for a good chunk of the game. Down by six with four minutes to play, Charlie Dalton made a layup and Freddie Dybala nailed a clutch jumper before Sanders got the tying layup down the stretch.

The Vulcans did eat up a lot of clock with three straight offensive rebounds after Dybala rallied CUI within two points, 51-49.

"It was a good defensive game from both teams," added Ammann. "I was really proud of how we scrapped back into the game. We couldn't get that last rebound but both teams had a hard time putting the ball in the basket."

CUI is still in the thick of the PacWest Conference standings along with Hawai'i Hilo, Hawai'i Pacific, Point Loma and first-place Biola, who has won six in a row.

CLICK HERE for the updated PacWest men's basketball standings

"A lot of games left and I think it's as even from top to bottom as I've ever seen in the conference," added Ammann. "So how well everybody responds to a loss and keeps competing at a high-level consistently is going to decide who is the team at the top."

CUI closes its unorthodox five-game home stand over Christmas break with Chaminade visiting this Thursday, Jan. 4 at 7:30 p.m. following the women's contest.

Admission is Free Thursday evening for both home basketball games against the Silverswords.

CLICK HERE for the updated CUI men's basketball schedule