Eagles Garner Important GSAC Road Win
The #18 Eagles responded to a tough home loss last Saturday against Westmont with an impressive, hard to come by, GSAC road win against (RV) Point Loma Nazarene on Tuesday night, January 24, 79-76. The win was a milestone for Concordia head coach Ken Ammann as he won his 300th career game. Ammann is in just his 11th season at CUI and his career record stands at an impressive 300-74.
Senior Edward Willis led CUI with 18 points and eight rebounds. Willis went five-of-ten from the field and was a perfect eight-for-eight from the line. His rebounds were split with four offensive and four defensive. Fellow senior Cameron Gliddon added 13 points and Dakota Downs put in 12 off the bench. Junior transfer Alex Rudd had his best game of the season with 11 points on a scorching five-of-seven shooting.
The first half was back and forth, but the Eagles showed early on that they were ready to battle. Willis scored CUI's first six points and at the 15:20 mark the game was tied at 8. The Sea Lions pulled ahead after that, fueled by an 11-4 run. Downs responded with a layup and after Donnell Phifer scored four straight points, the Eagles were within one. The teams traded leads over the next three minutes, before an Alex Rudd three and two Edward Willis free throws, sparked Concordia to a six-point halftime lead.
PLNU cut the lead down to two just two minutes into the half, but Willis and Gliddon scored six quick points to push the lead back to eight. The Sea Lions' Rhett Beal came back with two threes and Concordia held a slim one-point lead with 13:33 left. That lead wouldn't hold for long and PLNU took their first lead of the half, 52-51, on an Anthony Ussery layup. CUI would not let this one slip away though, and after being down by four, Cameron Gliddon hit a three, a jumper, and converted a layup to bring the Eagles back. CUI hit enough from the field and iced the game at the line over the last seven minutes to seal the GSAC road victory.
Both teams shot well from the field, with CUI and PLNU shooting at 45.9% and 42.1% respectively. Concordia took great care of the ball, only committing six turnovers, while forcing 17 PLNU turnovers. As a result CUI scored 20 points off turnovers, compared to seven for Point Loma. PLNU's bench outscored CUI's 47-29, but Rudd and Downs provided enough punch to support the Eagle starters.
With the win Concordia improved to 16-4 overall and 6-3 in the GSAC. Point Loma Nazarene fell to 12-6 and 5-4 in the conference. The Eagles are currently tied with Azusa Pacific and The Masters for second place in the conference, with Westmont leading the league at 7-2. Concordia is back in action on Saturday at 7:30 pm inside CU Arena for homecoming against Fresno Pacific. The Concordia Athletics Alumni Hall of Fame will honor the 2012 inductees at halftime of the game. Former men's basketball greats Tanner Luster and Chris Victor are among the honorees. Catch the live stats / live stream at www.cuieagles.com.
