Men’s basketball: Lions dunk Eagles

Tony Altobelli

COSTA MESA - The game was fast-paced and rim-rattling, just the way

the Vanguard University men’s basketball team wanted it.

Seniors Brandon Cablay and Dennis Keane sparked the offense, above

and below the rim as the Lions defeated Concordia, 80-65, in Golden State

Athletic Conference action Saturday night at The Pit.

“That was a very nice win for us,” Vanguard Coach Stephen French said.

“We knew it was a must-win game for us and coming off a tough loss to

Point Loma Nazarene on Tuesday, we wanted to bounce back at home.”

Cablay, a 6-foot senior, led the Lions (7-18, 3-11 in conference) with

24 points, two coming off a spectacular, one-handed slam dunk that

brought the standing-room-only homecoming crowd to its feet.

“That’s just an average night for Brandon in my opinion,” French said.

“He’s got so much athletic ability. We made a challenge to him to go out

there and get our offense going. He did that tonight.”

Keane added 21 points, nine rebounds and two monster dunks, including

a big-time flush to cap the Lions’ scoring.

The Lions led by six at the half, but Keane got them on the scoreboard

in the second half quickly. He scored five points in the first 37

seconds, giving Vanguard an 11-point cushion.

The Eagles (10-14, 4-10) used an 8-2 run, including an impressive jam

from Amir Law to get to within five.

It lead remained five until a 9-2 Vanguard run pushed the advantage

to, 60-48.

The Lions dominated Concordia on the boards, holding a 44-28

advantage. Kemmy Burgess made up for a subpar offensive performance with

eight rebounds and two steals.

“He was doing all the little hustle things out there,” French said.

“His defense was the best he’s played in a long time.”

Chris Pacana led the Eagles with 15 points, while Danny Genung added

13.