LA MIRADA, Calif. — Fresno Pacific men's basketball erased a 12-point second-half deficit to pull even with Biola at 53-53, but the comeback effort fell short as the Sunbirds dropped a 77-61 decision Monday night at Chase Gym. The Sunbirds move to 0-1 overall.
Nick Davidson opened the scoring with a layup, and Pablo Soumare followed with a basket at 18:39 to give FPU an early 4-3 lead. Biola responded with a pair of 3-pointers and a fast-break dunk to take a 12-4 advantage. The Sunbirds stayed within reach through points in the paint and in transition, with Brandon Gibson Jr. and Davidson adding layups and Logan Kilbert connecting from beyond the arc at 7:15.
FPU made a late push before the break, forcing four consecutive Eagles turnovers. Davidson and Hugo Gonzalez Garcia capitalized with layups, trimming the deficit from six to two at 31-29. Biola answered with a basket inside with 26 seconds remaining to take a 33-29 lead into halftime. The Sunbirds shot 13-for-32 in the opening half and forced 10 turnovers, while Biola held a 24-17 rebounding advantage.
FPU carried its momentum into the second half, using an 11-0 run to close within 41-40. The Sunbirds continued their climb until Bryce Iwuoha threw down a dunk to tie the game at 53-53 with 9:07 remaining. Davidson's free throws brought FPU even again at 57-57, but Biola responded with a decisive run, building a 72-57 advantage by the 3:14 mark. The Eagles held on from there to secure the 77-61 win.
Gonzalez Garcia led the Sunbirds with 14 points and six rebounds. Davidson finished with 10 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists, while Kilbert added 10 points, three steals and two 3-pointers. Jaden Geron contributed nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
NEXT UP: The Sunbirds compete at the San Francisco State Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 13th-14th. FPU will go against Northwest Nazarene on Friday at 3pm, then face Simon Fraser on Saturday at 2pm!
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