The #8 ranked Sunbirds hosted Point Loma Nazarene (RV) earlier today in Golden State Athletic Conference play at FPU's Special Event Center. FPU prevailed 81-79 in a thriller that the Sunbirds pulled off in the last :30 seconds of the game in front of a packed house.

The first half was very competitive, and both teams played with high energy and intensity. There were nine lead changes in the first period which ended with PLNU having a slight 46-42 lead over the Sunbirds.

The Sea Lions continued to put FPU under pressure in the second half and led throughout nearly the entire period. The Sunbirds were able to tie the game at 58 apiece with 12:35 left to play, and again at 62-62 with 9:06 remaining, but Point Loma simply refused to give up the lead.

That was until within the final minute when FPU sophomore forward Jordan Wild nailed two free throws with :27 seconds left to play to give the Sunbirds a 80-79 lead. Junior guard James Lewis Jr. made one more free throw with :03 seconds left to give Fresno Pacific the 81-79 win.

"Point Loma is a good team and they outplayed us for much of the night," acknowledged FPU assistant coach Chris Wright, "but we were able to keep it close and then make plays when we needed to."

Senior guard/forward Marcus West led the Sunbirds in scoring with 25 points. James Lewis Jr. and junior forward Todd Brown also contributed for each scoring 17 points for FPU.

With the win, Fresno Pacific remains atop the GSAC at 12-1 and improve to 19-4 overall. Next up, the Sunbirds travel to face Vanguard University of Southern California Thursday, February 12th in Costa Mesa, CA. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30PM.