LA MIRADA -- Cal State LA's men's basketball used a stirring late-game rally to post an impressive season-opening win over one of the PacWest Conference's top teams.
The Golden Eagles rallied strongly from a 12-point deficit in the final five minutes to force overtime and then edged Concordia-Irvine, 77-74, in the PacWest-CCAA Crossover Tournament at Biola.
Devin Means rebounded his own miss and scored to send the game into the extra period and gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good with a three-point play with 2:44 to go in overtime.
Means led four Golden Eagles in double figures with 16 points and was 7-of-11 from the floor.
Fard Muhammad had 13 points,
Anthony Fitzpatrick had 13 points and seven rebounds and
Jihad Woods had 12 points and five rebounds.
Cal State LA shot 44.1 percent for the game (30-of-68) and won despite making only 4-of-23 from behind the 3-point line. The Golden Eagles had a decided edge in points in the paint. Concordia made 25-of-61 from the floor and was 9-of-30 from 3-point range. Cal State LA had a 41-40 rebounding edge and committed 17 turnovers to 20
It was a big victory for the Golden Eagles, who fell to Concordia by a large margin last season. Concordia has been picked to finish third in the PacWest Conference this season in a preseason poll of conference coaches.
The Golden Eagles, like they did in an exhibition game against Cal State Northridge, showed great resiliency. Cal State LA trailed by double digits in each half, yet erased the deficits in impressive fashion.
Cal State LA trailed by as many as 11 points in the opening half, but used a 9-0 run to take a 28-26 lead after a layup by Woods off an assist by Means. A pair of free throws by
Serigne Athj and a layup by Muhammad with one second left in the half gave the Golden Eagles a 34-31 halftime lead.
A 3-pointer by De'Sean Lewis gave the Golden Eagles a 37-33 lead early in the second half, but Concordia embarked on a 27-11 run to open up a 60-48 lead with 5:30 to go. Cal State LA still trailed by nine, 64-55, with three minutes left before a final push.
Jordan Rogers started the comeback with a 3-pointer and Fitzpatrick followed with a three-point play to make it 64-61. A Fitzpatrick layup made it 65-63 with 38 seconds to go and, after a defensive stop, Means sent the game into overtime with his late basket.
Cal State LA will return to action on Saturday with a game against host Biola, which opened the tourney with a win over Cal State San Marcos.
