FRESNO, Calif. – Fresno Pacific couldn't keep up with the high-powered offense of Chaminade on Thursday night, as the Sunbirds fell 89-78 in PacWest play.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Chaminade 89, Fresno Pacific 78
Records: FPU (5-15, 3-9 PacWest), CUH (12-4, 7-2 PacWest)
Location: Fresno, Calif. | Special Events Center
Series: The Sunbirds trail 5-2
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QUOTABLE:
• "I thought our guys competed, and we rallied with a nice run in the last four minutes. I thought our fatigue of the gauntlet of our schedule got to us, and a couple of our guys really ran out of steam. Legs were heavy, shots didn't fall, and we failed to execute in a couple of key stretches. We really struggled to keep them off the glass, but was proud that a couple guys off the bench gave us some life and energy. We will try to grit it out, reset and get a home win Saturday night." - head coach C.J. Haydock
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Sunbirds came out hot early and forced a timeout from Chaminade with the score 9-3.
• A Sam Burt dunk in transition ignited the crowd a few minutes later before FPU grabbed a 16-10 lead at the opening media timeout.
• CUH then climbed back into the game and earned a 43-41 lead at the intermission as each team finished at 46 percent from the floor in the opening period.
• The difference came with the Sunbirds trailing 48-47, as the Silverswords ran off a 18-5 stretch in five minutes to take control of the game.
• FPU used a late run to cut the deficit to seven with under three minutes to play, but wouldn't come any closer the rest of the way.
 
STATS OF THE GAME:
• Six Sunbirds scored in double-figures, led by Elijah Hill's 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He added four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
• Jake Straughan totaled 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, Burt amassed 13 points and eight rebounds, and Adrian Antunez, Aamondae Coleman and Sam Holmes added 11 points apiece for FPU.
• The 'Birds finished the night shooting 46 percent from the floor, but Chaminade countered at 48 percent. The Silverswords also out-rebounded the Sunbirds 44-37.
• Justin Bridges led Chaminade with 18 points, while Brett Reed totaled 11 points and 18 rebounds.
 
BEYOND THE BOX:
• Hill picked up his third double-digit scoring effort of the season.
• Straughan's five boards and five assists were both season highs.
• Antunez was held without an assist for the first time in his career on Thursday.
• Chaminade, now winners of seven straight, entered the night with the second-highest scoring offense in the conference at 81.4 points per game.
 
UP NEXT:
• FPU wraps up its five-game homestand on Saturday against Notre Dame de Namur. Tipoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. at the Special Events Center.