IRVINE, Calif.-A strong third quarter was not enough to overcome a slow scoring night as the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (12-5 overall, 6-3 PacWest) fell 58-51 to the Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagles (8-8 Overall, 6-4 PacWest) Saturday afternoon at the CU Arena.

Fresno Pacific was terrific in the third quarter, making seven of its 12 field goals and got to the line 12 times in the period, scoring 22 points.

"Not the result we wanted tonight," head coach Tim Beauregard said. "We took too long to get started. Proud of our fight in the third quarter which gave us a chance in the fourth but it was a little too late. Credit to Concordia for making plays in the fourth to keep our surge at bay."

But they were just 4 of 22 in the first half and all four of those field goals came in the opening quarter.

The third quarter helped FPU dig out of an 11 point halftime deficit and the defense was equally stifling.

FPU held CUI to just 11 points in the third with the Golden Eagles scoring 7 of those at the free-throw line.

The Sunbirds hit two of their four 3-pointers in the third and tied the game at 35 at the start of the fourth quarter

But Concordia used 17 free-throw attempts in the fourth and shot 50% from the field to deliver its highest scoring period of the game and fend of FPU.

The Sunbirds weathered foul trouble throughout the game with 50 total fouls being called, 21 of which came in the fourth quarter.

"We know that our baseline expectations for ourselves every game is good enough," Beauregard added. "On nights like tonight, when we don't bring that baseline we need a lot of things to swing our way to win. Hoping we can learn a level of consistency in our start to finish effort and connectivity. If we do, we'll have a great chance every night we play."

No Sunbird had double-figures but Julie Ramirez led the way in scoring with 9 points, Felcia Dourva added 8 and four others had six points each.

"We are excited to get home, have a day off, and get to reset a bit," Beauregard concluded. "We still know exactly who we are. This trip proves what we already knew, success won't be judged by any one game but rather who we are everyday. This trip gives us a great opportunity to dig in further to our daily pursuits of excellence. No flinch in our locker room."

Fresno Pacific will head home for a four-game homestand beginning Thursday with a special 3:30 p.m. start time against Westmont in the Special Events Center.

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