IRVINE, Calif.  -- Vanguard men's basketball defeated their local foe Concordia Irvine tonight in an 80-78 victory on the road.  The Lions led in the first half but trailed with just a few minutes remaining in the second period.  However, a huge shot by Leonard Turner and a go-ahead layup from Chris Chiles with 30 seconds left propelled the Lions to a late victory, bumping Vanguard to 9-4 overall and 3-4 in Pacific West Conference play.  CUI falls to 8-6 overall and 3-4 in league action.
 
What Happened?  The Lions grabbed their first lead on the squad's second possession as Chiles, back from injury, drained a three off a Bryson Metz pass.  CUI scored the next four tallies but layups from Anthony Tello and Turner soon had VU cinched up with the hosts at 7-7.  Metz put the Blue and Gold ahead 12-11 at the 14:30 mark off a three in transition and a layup by Tello on a fast break a minute later put the VU advantage at three. 
 
The Golden Eagles stayed within range until the halfway point of the frame, as a Jackson Larsen jumper and a triple by Devin Carson swung the Lions into a 22-16 lead.  The Blue and Gold scored the next five points thanks to a Turner layup and another Carson three, as VU rolled that into a 12-3 stretch over five minutes of action.  Though leading 31-19, the tide slowly rolled in for the home side, who closed out the half slightly outscoring Vanguard 11-7 to put the VU lead at 38-30 at the intermission.
 
The Lions shot 43.8% from the field in the frame and connected on 6-of-13 shots from deep (46.2%).  CUI shot 32% in the opening half and went 1-for-9 from downtown. 
 
Larsen started the second half with a pair of free throw conversions and a bomb from beyond the arc by Metz pushed the lead to 43-32.  VU had led by 14 late in the first half and this would be the height of the lead in the second frame.  The Golden Eagles slimmed the advantage down to seven with 14:12 to go and CUI poured it on from there, as the hosts took a 53-46 deficit and flipped that into a 57-56 lead over the next four minutes.  CUI continued to attack and the under-eight-minute media timeout saw VU on the wrong end of a 21-8 run, as the Lions trailed 67-61.
 
While the Blue and Gold chipped away, CUI kept the gap steady until Larsen made a layup at 5:55 to go to bring the score to 72-68.  A CUI missed on the next possession and a layup by Turner made it a two-point game.  The CUI advantage hovered at one possession until a huge three by Turner brought the VU to within one at 76-75 with 2:58 left.  Both teams got layups with under two minutes to go, but CUI missed their three-pointer with 48 ticks left.
 
The Lions took a timeout and the ran the inbounds play to Chiles, whose apt touch off the glass restored VU to the front for the first time in 10 minutes at 79-78.  He made a free throw with 10 seconds left to finish the scoring as the Lions rescued an 80-78 victory over the final five minutes of the game.
 
The Lions just edged the Golden Eagles in shooting percentage 45% to 44.1% and made two more threes (9-for-19) than the hosts (7-of-22).  The rebound battles was almost dead even, with VU nabbing just one more offensive board than CUI (10-9) to give the Lions a 35-34 edge. 
 
Larsen led VU with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and five free throws.  Turner made one three and went 5-for-8 from the floor to bank 15 points.  Metz contributed 13 points and four assists and Anthony Tello had 11 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.  Chiles had eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. 
 
Why is it Important?  This was the first win by VU over CUI since 2015, as the Golden Eagles had won the last four contests.
 
What was Said?  "I'm really proud of the fight our guys showed tonight against an excellent Concordia team," relayed Head Coach Rhett Soliday.  "We had great momentum in the first half and heading into halftime, and CUI came out and just absolutely attacked us to take hold of the second half.  Our guys weathered a huge momentum swing by grinding out stops and getting huge rebounds that led to opportunities late.  We were fortunate to win the game and had some great efforts by so many guys."
 
What's Next?  The Blue and Gold go to APU next Wednesday, January 15, for a 7:30 p.m. game.