By james art 
Irvine, Calif. – The Golden Eagles held off a ferocious effort by the visiting Hope International Royals in Saturday’s home exhibition, outscoring the visitors 66-60.
The game does not count for CUI in terms of stats and overall record, as it was the team’s final tune-up before the regular season begins next week.
Jace Catchings led the way with 18 points while also adding a team-best nine rebounds.
Connor Gleeson added 15 points and went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. He had a clever ride on the I-1 line-up that helped seal the win.
Sophomore Caden Minter also scored a dozen points. The transfer from Santa Ana CC had some big buckets down the stretch with a trey and a reverse jumper on the baseline.
“I was very pleased with the way we battled and played hard to find a way to get this win,” said the CUI head coach Ken Amman. “It felt like a conference game. Hope is a very experienced team and always extremely well coached. They have a lot of returning players and they have already played a few games and that made it difficult for us. I was really happy with our second half effort and it’s hard to get a lot of paint against them.”
“They are physical and switch a lot on defense and it was very helpful to see that as we will see that a lot this year,” Amann added. “We have to continue to improve against these types of looks so we can continue to get good shots. Our guys played a lot smoother and more confident in the second half and we were able to execute a lot better.”
CUI hosts Cal State LA on Friday at 5pm PT in the season opener.
Home for CUI is next Saturday, November 9th at 6:00pm PT against Cal State San Marcos.
CLICK HERE for the complete CUI men’s basketball schedule