IRVINE, Calif.-Efficient 1^st half shooting and tenacious defense led the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (4-12 overall, 3-6 PacWest) to a 66-60 win over the Concordia university Irvine Golden Eagles (9-7 overall, 6-4 PacWest) Saturday evening at the CU Arena.

"Really proud of our guys," Head Coach C.J. Haydock said. "I think Concordia is one of the toughest, most physical and well coached teams in the league, and I just thought our response to that was tremendous. We competed defensively all game long at a really high level and found just enough solutions on offense to get it done. "

Gabriel Quiette helped FPU off to a good start, scoring half of the Sunbirds points as they set off on an 8-7 lead in the first five minutes.

A Ryas Vang four-point play and the first bucket of the night from Isaac Peralta turned it into a 14-9 lead for FPU.

Peralta added four of FPU's next six to widen the lead to eight points at 20-12.

Later in the first half, the 'Birds turned in an 8-0 run to lead by as many as 14-points with a 34-20 advantage.

Concordia closed the half with a 6-0 run, but Fresno Pacific led 34-26 at the break.

Fresno Pacific was on the mark throughout the half, shooting 62% from the field.

The Sunbirds created the advantage on the glass as well, doubling up their hosts 18-9 in rebounds during the first twenty minutes.

Things evened out throughout much of the second half, but the Sunbirds had answers for every CUI run.

The Golden Eagles got within three points seven minutes into the half, but the Sunbirds stretched back to a two possession game quickly.

When CUI got within three points again with six minutes to go but the Sunbirds reset the lead to ten points before the two minute mark.

In both runs, Kyle Monk hit a three and Avery Lewis got to the rim for a layup to sustain FPU runs.

But the Sunbirds defense was stellar all night.

Fresno Pacific held CUI to 1-13 from the three-point line and continued to rebound, only allowing six offensive rebounds, and held a plus nine advantages on the glass for the game.

While FPU turned the ball over 17 times, three more than CUI, the Sunbirds actually dominated points off turnover turning those 14 into 27 points. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles only converted 15 points off of the 17 FPU turnovers.

Peralta continues to score for FPU, leading with 21 points, while stuffing the stat sheet with three steals, two rebounds, and two assists.

"A really gritty, tough, all-around performance from Isaac Peralta," Haydock added. "He is simply impacting the game on both ends of the floor as much as anyone in the league."
 
Monk added 10 points thanks to three 3-pointers.

Five other Sunbirds had at least five points.

It's the third straight win for FPU and is the second in that streak that avenges a prior loss from 10-days ago.

"Our guy's belief is incredible right now," Haydock concluded. "And just a testament to their buy in, growth mindset, and character. I'm proud of our maturity, our toughness and togetherness. We know it time to chase growth just as hard tomorrow as we have for the last three months."

Now, the Sunbirds will turn their attention to their first ever NCAA matchup against old rival Westmont, hosting the Warriors for a special 5:30 p.m. start Thursday inside the Special Events Center.

SUNBIRD SOCIAL 

• Twitter - @fpusunbirds 
• Instagram - @fpusunbirds 
• Facebook - /FPUsunbirds