IRVINE, Calif. – Both teams made ferocious comebacks in Thursday's down-to-the-wire battle between the Concordia Golden Eagles and the Vanguard Lions.
Vanguard led by as many as 14 in the first half before CUI cut it to eight at the break.

The Green and Gold chipped away at the deficit and crawled their way back in to the contest.

Jayce Catchings converted a corner trey and two free throws as part of a 10-0 run midway through the second half. That ultimately would flip a 56-50 deficit into a four-point advantage for Concordia.

A crafty steal and fastbreak layup by freshman guard Kevin Haupt handed CUI the lead and then Jaden Henderson hit a crucial three as part of that momentum shift.

Connor Gleason briefly caught fire with a layup and a triple of his own. Kaden Minter's jumper with just over eight minutes to go gave CUI its largest lead at 67-61.

However, Vanguard regrouped under head coach Rhett Soliday and focused on attacking the paint more after that. The Lions made six layups down the stretch and four free throws and only a couple of perimeter shots to retake the lead in the final minutes.

Gleason had a chance to deliver CUI the win with a deep three-point attempt in the last ten seconds but alas it was not meant to be and the Lions escaped 80-78.

Four different Golden Eagles wound up scoring in double figures with Henderson leading the way with 20 points in over 34 minutes of action. Joseph Locandro helped the cause with 12 points and six rebounds off the bench. Gleason also finished with a dozen while Minter added 11 points.

Most of the statistical categories were pretty even across the board. The Lions did hit two more treys on 9-of-19 shooting (47 percent) while CUI was 7-for-22 (32 percent).

Coach Soliday of Vanguard is also a former CUI assistant coach and was a member of Ken Ammann's staff when Concordia won the 2012 NAIA National Championship.

Concordia will get a rematch at Vanguard's brand new gym in a couple weeks on Wednesday, January 29. For now, the Golden Eagles will have to take out their frustrations on their next opponent – the Westmont Warriors – who visit Irvine this Saturday, Jan. 11 at 4 p.m. as part of a tripleheader in the gym.

The rare tripleheader is scheduled as follows:

2 pm – Westmont at CUI women's basketball
4pm - Westmont at CUI men's basketball
7 pm – Daemen at CUI men's volleyball

We hope to see you there!

CLICK HERE for the full CUI men's basketball schedule