ROHNERT PARK, Calif.-Whether it was from the starting lineup or the bench the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (2-3 overall) relied on the experience of their seniors to close out a 79-73 victory over the Sonoma State Seawolves (0-6 overall) Saturday afternoon at The Wolves' Den.

Senior Sunbirds had their imprint on the game from start to finish as Darrin Person Jr. was a prominent force in the Fresno Pacific offense and Nate Kendricks delivered a steady, stat-filled performance to propel the Sunbirds. Grant Highstreet delivered a scoring punch off the bench as FPU warded off the Seawolves for a road victory.

It was not without big contributions from the freshmen as well, as Isaac Peralta chipped in late scoring and Kyle Monk racked up 5 assists.

"I thought we really executed well on the offensive end all game long," Fresno Pacific head coach C.J. Haydock said of the win. "We got good paint touches and took care of the ball, opening up great looks from three for our shooters."

The Sunbirds offense got off to a good start with Spencer Heimerdinger and Person Jr. both getting buckets in the paint.

Kendricks and Kyle Monk, making his first collegiate start, balanced the offense by connecting on three's as FPU clung to an early 10-8 lead.

Person Jr. buoyed the lead with a pair of buckets, including a two-hand slam, and Michael Mensah delivered a three-pointer as FPU stretched its advantage to 19-13 at just about the midway mark of the first half.

Sonoma State went on a 7-0 run coming out of the timeout as FPU went scoreless for three minutes before Mensah was fouled as he buried a three-pointer, eventually connecting on the free-throw to put the Sunbirds back in front 23-20.

Kendricks got to the basket on a pair of possessions before a Marten Maide three-pointer extended FPU's largest first half lead to eight points with just under five minutes remaining in the half.

As the lead floated around that margin in the closing minutes of the half, Highstreet earned a couple of and-1 opportunities to keep the advantage.
Sonoma State closed the gap to 2, but Mensah delivered a last second runner in the paint to push the halftime lead to 39-35.

FPU took care of the basketball, limiting themselves to just 3 turnovers in the first half, and took advantage of the possessions by shooting 41.7% from deep in the half.

Sonoma State cut into the lead at the start of the half, but FPU maintained the lead behind a variety of buckets from Person Jr.

Kendricks and Person Jr. continued to attack the basket as FPU pushed the lead to 10 after Monk found Person Jr. for a layup just under the twelve minute mark.

The lead crept back into single digits until the seniors Kendricks, Person Jr., and Highstreet all hit layups as FPU pushed the advantage back to double figures.

Isaac Peralta followed up on a missed layup, drawing a foul and delivering a three-point play with 3:43 left to extend the lead to 13.

But Sonoma State shaved the FPU lead down to 6 with just 1:08 left to play.

The Seawolves fouled to stop the clock, with FPU converting at the free-throw line, but SSU hit a pair of threes to pull within 3 points with just 20.4 seconds remaining.

But FPU held on with Peralta continuing the success at the stripe and Maide getting a late layup out of a press break.

Kendricks stuffed the stat-sheet, delivering a team-high 16 points while also doling out 5 assists and snagging 4 rebounds.

Person Jr. chipped in 15 points while Peralta, Highstreet, and Mensah each added 9 points off the bench.

"We had senior steadiness from Kendricks, Heimerdinger, and Person Jr., "Haydock said of the experienced contributions from his group. "Big time effort plays from Highstreet, too."

Fresno Pacific delivered, by far, its best game of the season in terms of shooting efficiency. The Sunbirds finished the game at 58%. The 'Birds stayed in rhythm throughout the game as they committed a season-low 9 turnovers and continually kept control of the game.

The Sunbirds held Sonoma State to just 33% from the field for the game to earn their second win of the season.

"Defensively, we really tightened up in the second half just long enough," Haydock concluded. "We will reload and try to have another well-rounded performance tomorrow."

Fresno Pacific closes out the non-conference portion of the schedule, looking to get back to .500 on the season, on Sunday afternoon against SF State. Tip is at 2 p.m. from the Wolves' Den in Rohnert Park.