IRVINE, Calif. – A suffocating defensive effort in the first half by the Golden Eagles and a hot shooting night by Kaden Minter propelled Concordia University Irvine past Chaminade on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Concordia clamped down on defense early and led by as many as 20 before intermission. Chaminade didn't even break 10 points on the night until the 5:47 mark of the first half.

On the other end of the court, Minter exploded for 19 points in the first half on his way to his highest scoring output as a Golden Eagle. He finished with a career-high 32 points and poured in a ton of shots from the perimeter. Overall, Minter shot 11-for-17 from the field and 6-for-9 on three-pointers. The six made triples were also a personal best, and the 11 made field goals in a game were also a career-high for the sophomore from Mater Dei High School.

Jaden Henderson wore a mask for the first time and handed out a career-high seven assists while also scoring 12 points. Charlie Dalton also added a dozen points while Jayce Catchings cleaned the boards with authority on his way to equaling his personal best with 11 rebounds.

Up and down the lineup, Concordia got solid contributions. Bryan Baptiste came in and immediately made an impact, creating three steals and a memorable dive on the floor to poke the ball ahead to a teammate for another fast break opportunity.

New Golden Eagle Logan Cremonesi made his Concordia debut and recorded his first block and his first bucket. He finished with four points and three rebounds off the bench.

At one point early in the first half, Minter knocked down two technical free throws and drilled a pair of treys and was singlehandedly outscoring Chaminade by himself (28 to 26) when the score was 50-26.

The Silverswords did battle back and chipped away at the deficit to eventually tie the contest. But by staying aggressive in the paint, the Golden Eagles back on track by getting to the charity stripe.

Jayce Catchings sank two free throws with 36 seconds remaining and then Charlie Dalton iced the game with two more freebies with 20 seconds to play to help Concordia hang on at the end.

CUI improved to 10-7 overall and 5-5 in conference play. The Silverswords slipped to 6-6 in the PacWest - which has an absolute logjam in the middle of the standings with a ton of teams chasing first-place Point Loma. CUI is still the only team as of January 20 who has defeated the defending PacWest champions so far this season in PacWest play.

CLICK HERE for the PacWest men's basketball standings

Up next for the Golden Eagles is another home date on Thursday, Jan 23 at 7 p.m. against the Hawai'i Hilo Vulcans. The men's game follows the women's match at 5 p.m. as part of another PacWest Conference doubleheader.

CLICK HERE for the full CUI men's basketball schedule