Box Score

Fresno Pacific came through when it counted on Saturday night, handing host Southern Oregon a 57-56 loss at the Flagship Inn Invitational.

Despite trailing for much of the second half, the Sunbirds remained resilient throughout the game and capitalized when the game came down to the wire. Kendall Holmes was a big reason, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half to lead the charge. Jordan Wild led FPU with 16 points and came up with a key steal and free throws down the stretch.

Southern Oregon (6-2) led by nine at halftime, behind the hot hand of guard Kyle Tedder who led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc. The Raiders shot 52 percent as a team and led 38-29.

"In the first half we lacked energy," said Sunbird coach Chris Wright. "We weren't doing the thing that have made us successful to this point."

The Sunbirds would come out in the second half energized and played their zone defense to perfection, only allowing five Raider field goals in the second half.

"I'm real proud of these guys to come out like that on the road," said Wright. "That's the sign of a good team: winning a game like this when you didn't necessarily play your best."

With the defense consistently getting stops, FPU began to cut the lead in the seoond half. By the 11-minute mark, the team had trimmed the lead to 44-43 after three buckets in a row by Holmes and a basket by Matt Christman.

The Raiders would not relinquish the lead easily though and responded with a layup and a pair of free throws before Tedder struck again from long-range to put SOU up 51-43 with 8:38 remaining.

The Sunbirds would come roaring back, forcing a turnover and getting a deep three-pointer from the top of the key by Wild. FPU then went to Holmes inside on the next two possessions, with the senior center using his post-moves to stifle the defense and add two more buckets, cutting the Raider lead back to one.

"Kendall is as good of a low-post scorer as there is at the NAIA level and we really got him going in the second half," said Wright.

Tedder would respond yet again for the Raiders though, nailing another three-pointer to make the score 54-50. Adam Kado then found Christman for a fastbreak layup, making the score 54-52 with 4:57 to play.

The Sunbirds would catch a couple of bad breaks on the next two possessions, including a bucket by Holmes that was nullified by an offensive foul. With 2:35 remaining, Wild anticipated a Raider pass and swooped in on it for the steal, then took the ball down the court and was fouled.

He made both free throws to tie the game, then was fouled while getting the rebound on the next possession. Another free throw by Wild gave FPU its first lead since the first half at 55-54 with 2:16 to play.

Holmes would put the Sunbirds up by three with a putback with 1:37 left, but despite getting a stop on the next play, FPU was called for a foul on a loose ball. The Raiders hit both free throws to pull back within one with 33 seconds left and a missed Sunbird free-throw would give SOU a chance to take the lead.

FPU's defense would not let up and the Raiders were unable to get an open look. SOU's Jordan Highland hoisted up a three-pointer with two seconds left, but it fell short and was rebounded by Holmes.

The Sunbirds improve to 5-2 with the win and have won three straight. Casper Hesseldal added 10 points in the win, while Deshaun Legree had nine points and seven rebounds. Besides Tedder, no other SOU player finished with more than seven points.

FPU now moves into the first portion of its GSAC schedule, and the Sunbirds will get one of the toughest games of the season right off the bat as they face NAIA #1 Azusa Pacific on the road on Tuesday night.