COSTA MESA-- Erik Howlin had a career-best 33 points (9-12 FG) to help spear Vanguard to a 76-69-point win on Valentine's Day at the Freed Center. He was also aided by a well-rounded scoring effort from the Blue and Gold, as seven of the nine Lions who played found the basket. VU (13-10, 9-8) completes the season sweep over Concordia for the first time since 2013-14 and finds itself in a tie for seventh place in the league, one game behind Fresno Pacific, which currently holds the last Pacific West playoff spot. The PacWest Team of the Week, Concordia (14-11, 11-8), dropped their last two games, but remain in fourth place in the conference.

Kailen Rains came off the bench to drop nine points. Aibigho Ujadughele also scored nine, but tied the team-high eight rebounds. Bryson Metz planted eight points in the win, while Tony Colley and Sammy Howlin piled six each. Dylan Swillis was Vanguard's last scorer, nailing five points and five boards.

Vanguard shot 50% from both the floor and three-point range for the first time since the season opener against Cal State San Bernardino. They went from 23-44 (52%) from the floor, 50% (7-14) from three, and 76% (23-30) at the charity stripe.

The Lions led in bench points (14-6), assists (9-4), and fast break points (17-6), but CUI had the edge in points in rebounds (35-24), second chance points (9-2), and points in the paint (36-26). The Blue and Gold also held the second-best three-point shooting team in the league, at 3-15 (20%) from downtown.

What Happened?
There was only one tie and three lead changes across the entire game, but CUI had the early advantage off the opening tip. They set the pace with a 5-0 start, hitting what proved to be their only three-point make of the half (1-7).  Metz elevated for the first VU point and clocked another jumper in transition as the Lions trailed by two (9-7 CUI).

Rains hit two free throws, and an Erik Howlin steal and dunk going the other way gave VU their first lead of the night to bring the Golden Eagles to heel (11-10 VU). CUI did open up a find down the lane to respond, but Swillis scored the and-one opportunity to take the Lions back in front 14-12 with 11:14 left to play in the half.

Vanguard led the remainder of the game and started their ascendance with a 14-42run. The stretch included two three-point makes split between Colley and Ujadughele, as well as the second of Sammy Howlin's eventual three blocks.

Leading 26-14, VU felt the fight from Concordia to bring themselves back in the game. The pair of top two defensives in the league starting a cadence that would paint the remainder of the game, trading runs instead of buckets to direct the scoring stream. CUI made it a one-point game (26-25 VU) on an 11-0 run before VU rekindled their fire. They showed off their own defensive intensity with a 9-0 burst themselves, keeping CUI scoreless in the last two minutes of the half, with scoring load provided by the Howlin brothers.

The Lions narrowed down their three-point efforts to pinch a 4-6 spread from three. They also took 22 free throws in the last 20 minutes, making 17 of them. Concordia improved its overall shooting to 46% (15-32) but did not find fortune from the perimeter (2-8).

Erik Howlin had 22 points in the second half and hit a straightaway three to start the second half. He scored seven of the next nine Lion points before Colley's three-pointer to put VU at the half-century mark (50-36 VU). Howlin continued to set the pace for the Lions' offense. Rains also hit a well-timed baseline jumper to keep the Lions up by 14 (54-40 VU).

CUI hit back-to-back three-balls to net a 13-5 run to bring it down to single digits 59-53 VU with 7:56 left to go. Rains had another scoring bust alongside Howlin, the pair downing two treys to get the Lions back on track 64-53 with 6:42 on the clock.

Vanguard spent the next five minutes without a field goal, but both teams' defenses neutralized each other, as CUI only scored four points in that span and could never catch up to the Lion's lead. Howlin's bag stayed on display down the final minute of play, and he capped off the night with Ujadughele at the free-throw line to secure back-to-back wins for the Blue and Gold.

What was said?  "I thought our guys showed tremendous resilience tonight at the defensive end," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday.  "We understood that our key to being who we want to be as a team starts and ends at the defensive end of the floor.  Staying committed regardless of the circumstances has been a posture our guys continue to choose, and they did it again tonight.  Boogie and Erik set the tone on [Kaden] Minter and [MaCarhy] Morris, and then others came in and picked up right where they left off.  And how about Erik tonight?  What an offensive performance by him to close out possession after possession when we needed big baskets."

What's Next? The Lions head to San Diego to close the regular season series with the defending champions on Thursday, Feb. 19. Opening tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m.