Box Score

Fresno Pacific caught some tough breaks in a 77-72 home loss to Vanguard on Saturday as the Sunbirds dropped to 12-7, 3-5 in GSAC play. Donte Nicholas nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, but it seemed like everything would go the Lions' way down the stretch.

A number of key plays in the second half shifted the momentum, and it seemed like much of it was out of the team's control. One such play took place after a 14-4 FPU run was capped off by a thunderous dunk in transition by Nicholas to give the Sunbirds a 52-49 lead with just over nine minutes to play.

Nicholas was called for a technical however for hanging on the rim, despite the fact that the ball was directly under the hoop and there were four Lion players in the vicinity. That led to four Vanguard points in a 12-second span as the Lions quickly regained the lead.

Antonio Credit responed for the Sunbirds with his third dunk of the game on the other end, but the Lions continued to work for open shots and would regain the lead behind two Taylor Kelly three-pointers.

Another key swing took place with 3:45 left in the game and the Sunbirds trailing by one, with the ball. But within the first few seconds of the possesion a very questionable offensive foul on Kenny Bradford gave the Lions the ball back. Vanguard would immediately capitalize with a three-pointer by Chris Pynch to put them up four.

Bradford answered with a three at the other end, but VU's Christopher Raybon knocked one down on the next possession to make the score 69-65 Lions with 2:40 left. The Sunbirds would get within two late in the game, but the exceptional free-throw shooting of the Lions would put the game away.

Vanguard made all 19 of its free-throw attempts in the win. Kelly led the team with 22 points, Raybon added 18 with nine assists, and Pynch finished with 14 including the clutch free-throws at the end. VU improved to 12-7, 4-4 in GSAC play.

In addition to Nicholas, Credit finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for FPU. Eric Hipolito added 15 points and eight boards, while Bradford had 13 points.

The Sunbirds host #16 Westmont on Tuesday night at 7:30 pm, a team currently tied for first place in the league after an upset win at #6 Concordia tonight.

Around the GSAC
Azusa Pacific (H) 69, San Diego Christian 60
The Masters (H) 66, Point Loma Nazarene 63
Westmont 90, Concordia (H) 85
Biola (H) 65, Hope International 57