Concordia basketball teams scheduled to open conference play this month

Denzel Holt and Destiny Sambrano are among the top players for the Concordia basketball teams this season. (Photos courtesy Concordia University sports information)

Concordia University Irvine women’s and basketball teams are each scheduled to begin 12-game schedules in the Pac West Conference beginning later this month, athletic officials announced on Thursday.

Concordia willl be in the three-team Southern California pod. Games will be played without fans in attendance under league rules due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials added.

Both Concordia squads are scheduled to begin playing conference doubleheaders on Friday, Jan. 22 at Point Loma. 

The teams are scheduled to play their first home doubleheaders on Saturday, Jan. 23 vs. Point Loma.

All of the games are scheduled to take place in a Friday-Saturday home and away schedule with the women’s games starting at 2 p.m. and the men’s games at 5 p.m., officials said.

Biola and Azusa Pacific are also in the Southern California pod along with Concordia and Point Loma.

PacWest Conference officials announced they have temporarily placed the leagues’s basketball teams into three pods: Southern California, Northern California and Hawaii to help cut down on travel time and costs for member schools for this school year.

The final week of the regular season was left open in the schedule for possible make-up games or non-conference competition, officials said. Teams will be eligible to compete in the NCAA Division II West Regional Championships, they added.

Coach Christine Collins-Kiernan’s Concordia women’s squad qualified for the PacWest Conference Tournament in each of the last three seasons and is coming off a 17-win campaign.

Coach Ken Ammann’s men’s team split two exhibition games this season, defeating Westmont on the road in double overtime and losing to Pepperdine in the first meeting between the teams.

Source: Concordia University sports information