Box Score

FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno Pacific battled against the PacWest's first-place team on Saturday, leading in the first half and getting to within three points in the final 10 minutes but Cal Baptist would pull away for an 81-67 win. The shorthanded Sunbirds only suited up seven players due to a recent slew of injuries and were outscored 29-4 by the Lancers in bench points.

"I was proud of the effort our guys put forth tonight," said head coach Chris Wright. "Unfortunately we just missed far too many open shots and you're going to have a hard time winning too many games when that happens. Credit to Cal Baptist, they're a great team and are having a fantastic season. It's definitely not the start to league play that we anticipated, but if we maintain our focus and continue to put forth the kind of effort we did tonight, we'll be able to finish strong."

Malcolm Griffin poured in 27 points, Jonathan Jefferson added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Mason finished with 13 points, but the Sunbirds (5-9, 0-7 PacWest) were ice-cold from three-point range (4-for-24) in the loss. FPU was out-rebounded 43-32 in the loss.

Anthony Cosentino scored 16 points to lead a balanced attack for the Lancers (13-0, 7-0 PacWest), who remained undefeated.

The game was tied 50-50 with under 14 minutes to play before the Lancers steadily began to pull away. By the 4:32 mark, CBU had opened up a 70-58 lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.

The Sunbirds now turn their attention to another ranked opponent, traveling to Utah to take on #7 Dixie State on Monday night. FPU gave the defending conference champion Red Storm all they could handle earlier this season in Fresno, falling 85-80.