ROCKLIN, Calif. - The Fresno Pacific men's basketball team fell to the Jessup Warriors in a heartbreaker 77-76 Saturday afternoon.  The Sunbirds (13-15, 10-10 PacWest) came into the game winners of seven of their last eight but had been out of action since their last game on February 18th.  The one-point defeat ended the Sunbirds' hopes of reaching the PacWest Conference Championships next week.  Had the 'Birds gotten the victory, they would have qualified for the postseason over Concordia thanks to Hawaii-Hilo's loss to Hawaii Pacific.  

"Heart wrenching way to go out for us," head coach C.J. Haydock said after the defeat.  "We blew some defensive assignments early, and that let them get going, and then you have to deal with the outcome of those breakdowns – which turned into a tremendously hot shooting night for them.  I actually thought we generated really good shots on offense, just had a bad 30 seconds at the worst possible time."

The opening half was tightly contested, as Jonah Geron opened the scoring with a three in the first minute.  Jessup responded with a series of successful 3-pointers, including one from Ja'Maris Blackmon at 18:59 and another by Cayden McDaniel at 16:42, helping them take a narrow lead.  The Warriors would open a lead that reached as high as 12, but offensive contributions from Isaac Peralta, Liam Switzer, and Seth Brown erased the deficit.  A 3-pointer by Cooper Sheldon at 2:11 allowed them to pull ahead.  The half concluded with a fast-break layup by Seth Brown at 00:20. The sunbirds led Jessup 40-37 at the end of the half, leveraging strong bench contributions with 15 points compared to Jessup's three.  FPU's defensive efforts were notable, forcing the Warriors into 10 turnovers while recording six steals. Offensively, Fresno Pacific had a slight edge in second-chance points with nine offensive rebounds leading to four points, compared to Jessup's two offensive rebounds resulting in two points.

Fresno Pacific started the second half with Cooper Sheldon scoring a layup just 10 seconds in, assisted by Peralta, to extend their lead to 42-37.  The half was topsy-turvy with eight different lead changes.  The Warriors countered with balanced scoring from numerous players as they traded the lead with FPU.  The team capitalized on free throws, converting 12 of 13 attempts, and maintained a strong attack with six assists.  Harrison Pennisi and Ryas Vang nailed some key baskets to give the lead back to the 'Birds, and they would nearly hold it the rest of the way.  The teams traded fouls and free throws down the stretch.  The 'Birds were able to maintain the narrowest of margins multiple times, before McDaniel stole an inbound pass with less than 15 seconds to play.  Following a timeout, the Warriors inbounded and found Blackmon in the key for a two, giving them a 77-76 lead with 5.7 seconds to play.  Isaac Peralta took the final possession down the court and drove to the basket, but he was triple-teamed and his heave careened off the front of the rim as time expired. 

It was a bitter ending to a regular season that ultimately turned out to be a tale of two halves.  From late November through mid January, FPU lost eight of nine games are were sitting rock bottom of the PacWest Standings.  But after a January 15^th home victory over Chaminade – that same night head coach C.J. Haydock became the all-time winningest coach in the men's basketball program – the Sunbirds would soar up the standings, winning eight of their next ten and sitting squarely in the postseason slots.  But thanks to some dubious scheduling, the 'Birds had an 11-day layoff between their final two games while their postseason rivals were able to stay in form and create competition for the fourth, fifth, and sixth seeds.  The results would not go the Sunbirds' way in the regular season's final days, and combined with today's one-point defeat to Jessup meant that a remarkable second half turnaround ultimately would not reward the Sunbirds. 


UP NEXT
 
While the season may be over for the Sunbirds, it was a season full of big moments, big memories, and big performances.  From Jonah Geron's 30-point explosion against Chaminade and Harrison Pennisi's dominant 20/9 showing against Vanguard to the unwavering presence of Peralta and steadfast leadership from seniors Ryan Abbott, Geron, Vang, and Sheldon, there was a lot to appreciate and be grateful for in 2024-25.
 
I'm tremendously grateful to our seniors for how they closed our year," Haydock added.  "The outcome tonight doesn't change the culture they've established, the standard for toughness and togetherness we've displayed the last eight weeks.  I think we have the maturity to acknowledge that even in the frustration of today, our program is on great footing, with a talented collection of young players who have learned the standard it takes. 
 
"The best basketball for our 14 underclassmen remain in front of each of them."

 
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