IRVINE, Calif. - In the second to last game of the regular season for CUI, the Golden Eagles took on Art Academy Knights in hopes of keeping their PacWest tournament spot alive.

Defense was the name of the game that started this fierce competitive matchup between these two teams. No team scored more than double digits for the first seven minutes of the game. In the middle of the first half, there was a four-minute period where neither team could score a bucket because of lockdown defense.

By the end of the first half, the Golden Eagles were down by nine points, 29-20, but had their hopes up high because they knew their defense could help carry this team to a win despite being down.

Returning from the halftime break, the Golden Eagles coaching staff led by head Coach Ken Ammann made some crucial adjustments within the offense to get the ball moving more and being more aggressive towards the basket. Jayce Catchings took full advantage of the offense looking to attack the basket because that created offense boards for Catchings, leading to put-back-layups, tip-ins, and and-1s. Catchings finished the night with a double-double, leading a team-high in scoring with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

As the game progressed, the Golden Eagles were on a roll, taking the lead off a pair of Logan Cremonesi free throws 40-39 with 11:41 to go in the second half. From this point on, CUI turned the jets up offensively, leading by 10 points with 4:17 left to go in the game.

The Knights closed the lead to only three points, but the Golden Eagles stayed alive and held onto that slight advantage, winning by 5 points over a top-three PacWest regular season team with a final score of 60-55.

"It wasn't pretty, but we absolutely had to have that one," said CUI head coach Ken Ammann. "Connor (Gleason) did a great job battling and leading and kept us positive. We are still alive!"

Come and celebrate the seniors this Saturday, March 1st, at 3:00 PM for Senior Day. For both basketball programs, seniors will be recognized in the last regular season game.