ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific men's basketball team fell just short to Sonoma State, 76-73, on Friday night at the Ron Logsdon Classic. In a game that featured 14 lead changes, the Sunbirds held a lead with under two minutes to play before the Seawolves escaped with a victory on their home court.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Sonoma State 76, Fresno Pacific 73
Records: FPU (1-3), SSU (2-1)
Location: Rohnert Park, Calif. | The Wolves' Den
Series: The Sunbirds and Seawolves are even at 14-14
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QUOTABLE:
• "I am proud of our guys regardless of the outcome tonight. It was by far our best defensive outing of the year, and I thought we really rose to the challenge of competing on the defensive end of the floor and really defended with effort. We just have to find some composure offensively, clean up our turnover situation, and we will be on the right path. Tyler really steadied us, made some plays and took care of the ball while also defending at a high level. We will try to turn around in less than 24 hours and make that defensive effort a habit, while also cleaning up our offensive execution." – head coach C.J. Haydock
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• FPU trailed 32-23 with four minutes to play in the first half before Jake Straughan drained a trio of threes to cut the deficit to 38-35 at halftime.
• The two teams then went back and forth in the second half before Tyler Harris hit a trey at the 10:10 mark to give the Sunbirds a 55-52 lead.
• A Straughan layup extended the FPU lead back to 71-69 with 2:08 left, but SSU answered with a 7-0 run of its own to take control down the stretch.
 
STATS OF THE GAME:
• Straughan led the Sunbirds with 17 points, which included a 5-of-8 clip from three. He added two assists and two steals to his line.
• Sam Burt continued his strong senior campaign for the Sunbirds with 15 points and six rebounds, while Aamondae Coleman finished with 15 points (6-of-7 FG) and four rebounds. Harris added 10 points and Adrian Antunez totaled six points, five assists and two rebounds.
• The Sunbirds finished the night with a shooting percentage of 54 percent, as FPU made 10-of-19 shots from distance.
• The difference in the game proved to be the turnover battle, as the Seawolves turned 21 FPU turnovers into 31 points.
• Armani Nicolis scored a game-high 20 points for Sonoma State.
 
BEYOND THE BOX:
• The Sunbirds have drained 10 or more threes in back-to-back games.
• Burt has scored in double-digits in all four games this season. Last year, Burt only amassed three such games.
• Coleman is shooting an impressive .813 to start the year (13-of-16).
 
UP NEXT:
• FPU continues the Ron Logsdon Classic in Sonoma on Saturday, as the Sunbirds face Minnesota State at 5:30 p.m.