LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team continued to battle with a short-handed squad, but came up short in a hard-fought contest against Concordia Saturday in University Gym.

The Golden Eagles stayed within striking distance until the late stages of a 73-63 loss to Concordia in the second game of the CCAA/PacWest Challenge. Cal State LA (0-2) had just eight players suited up for the second straight game in a tough first weekend of competition.

Shane Bell had 20 points and five rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles, while Payton Moore also had a strong game with 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds. 

Lance Coleman II led four Concordia players in double figures with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Bryce Fitzgerald had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Alexander Sokol had seven points for the Golden Eagles, while Deuce Walker, Jared Pearre and Cyrus Johnson had six points each.

Cal State LA shot much better than it did in a season-opening loss to Biola on Friday and was 25-of-56 from the floor (44.6 percent). The Golden Eagles did struggle again from 3-point range, hitting just 3-of-16 from behind the arc and were 10-of-16 from the free-throw line.

Concordia shot 49 percent (25-of-51) and made 50 percent of its 20 attempts from 3-point range. 

Cal State LA was out-rebounded, 33-30, but fared much better on the boards than Friday. The Golden Eagles committed 15 turnovers to 19 for Concordia.

The Golden Eagles led as late as 22-21 with five minutes to go in the first half and was down by just three points, 29-26 after a layup by Pearre, but Concordia scored the last five points of the half to take a 34-26 halftime lead.

Cal State LA closed to within six points after a three-point play by Bell that made it 47-41 and a 3-pointer by Sokol that made it 50-44 with 12:47 to go. The Golden Eagles were down by just seven points, 53-46 after a dunk by Moore, but couldn't get any closer. A 3-pointer by Bell pulled the Golden Eagles to within eight points at 69-61, with 2:38 to go, but Concordia never led by less than eight the rest of the way.

Cal State LA will return to action on Tuesday with a home game against PacWest favorite Azusa Pacific at 7 p.m.