Box Score

Fresno Pacific took a quick trip up I-99 and played spoiler on Saturday night, defeating UC Merced 71-70 in overtime in the Bobcats' first ever home game.

The Sunbirds (4-1) played in front of a capacity crowd as the Bobcats, who are playing in their first season of NAIA competition and are far closer in distance to FPU than any other NAIA school, actually had to turn fans away because it was so packed.

Kenny Bradford scored 18 points to lead FPU, with George DeLeon adding 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. Matt Christman and Eric Hipolito added 11 points each.

Up 71-68 in the closing seconds in overtime, DeLeon was called for a foul on a Bobcat three-point attempt. The UC Merced player missed the first free throw, made the second, then tried to miss the third on purpose but made it to make the final score 71-70.

"We were lucky to get out of there with a win," said FPU coach Chris Wright. "We have a lot of areas we need to improve upon. If we don't start to learn from our mistakes, it's going to be a long season."

The Sunbirds, already undermanned due to injuries, were plagued once again by poor free-throw shooting, making just 18-of-32 (56%) to allow the Bobcats to hang around. FPU also turned the ball over 25 times, while UC Merced turned it over 24 times.

Bradford had a chance to win it for the Sunbirds in regulation but his driving layup rimmed out. FPU then had three chances to score on offensive rebounds but couldn't get anything to fall.

Montgomery Chambers led the Bobcats with 19 points on 8-of-23 shooting. Anthony Shephard added 13 points off the bench.

The two teams will square off again less than a week from now, this time in Fresno. FPU hosts its Thanksgiving Shootout on Friday and Saturday, November 25-26. The tournament includes UC Merced, Cal State Stanislaus and Texas A&M International. The Sunbirds and Bobcats face off on Friday at 5 pm.