HONOLULU, Hawaii — Fresno Pacific edged past Chaminade with an 83-81 victory at McCabe Gym on Thursday night. The Sunbirds' bench contributed significantly with 38 points to secure the win.

"I thought we had one of our better defensive outings of the year," said head coach C.J. Haydock, "and had consistency in our ball movement offensively last night."

Sparking the Sunbirds' drive, Logan Kilbert hit a deep jumper, assisted by Nick Davidson, near the arc to bring it to 2-5. Multiple Sunbird turnovers gave the Silverswords the lead they wanted, but Liam Switzer was ready for the tip-in layup from Davidson's shot attempt to keep the deficit small. The sophomore from Australia didn't stop there, collecting another point for the 'Birds on a three-point play, bringing it to 9-15. Adding kindling to the fire, Fresno Pacific's Isaac Peralta drove ahead with dual layups and a crucial assist to hotshot Switzer to tie it 15-15. At 11:52, Brandon Gibson Jr. got in on the action with a nifty driving layup, followed by freshman Loukas Jones' three-pointer to give FPU their first lead, 20-17.

The Silverswords kept pace with the 'Birds, not allowing them to get further than a six-point lead. Thankfully, Harrison Pennisi's constant offensive presence gave the Sunbirds an edge over Chaminade, allowing Clovis-native Jones' to sink yet another three-pointer for the night, 30-24. At 6:03, the freshman Sunbird continued to amaze as he contributed yet another shot from downtown to go 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. With four minutes remaining, the Sunbirds had officially captured a ten-point lead, thanks to Davidson's three-pointer at 3:54 and Gibson's layup at 2:23. Peralta fought for the final point in the final seconds of the first half, making it 44-35.

Strong performances from Seth Brown, Kilbert and Peralta kept the Sunbirds ahead 54-39 within the first four minutes of the second half. Brown scored his first points of the match with a three-pointer and a impressive dunk, Kilbert added an additional five points to his belt with a layup and a shot from beyond the arc, and Peralta did what he did best as he assisted several offensive plays. The sole senior Sunbird is one of the leaders in the PacWest rankings, collecting 70+ assists thus far in the season. Although the 'Birds were ahead 58-44, the Silverswords didn't give up hope as they fought to shrink the deficit, going on an eight-point run. Fresno Pacific's Brown and Gabriel Quiette blazed ahead for the Sunbirds, keeping Chaminade at an arm's length as the clock passed the eight-minute mark.

At 3:38, Pennisi's game-disrupting block boosted the Sunbird bench to their feet, but the Silverswords were undettered. Davidson's clutch fall-away jumpshot was key to the 77-69 push by the 'Birds, followed by Gibson and Quiette's bold attempts to score in the last moments. The Silverswords made a daring comeback with twelve seconds to go, making an alley-oop and driving layup to bring it to 81-78. With only ten seconds remaining, a Sunbird foul gave Chaminade a chance at the free throw line, making it a one-point game, 81-80. In return, Fresno Pacific's Davidson didn't crumble at the line, netting both shots. The Silverswords made a dash down the court, but was fouled with a second remaining. In the end, Chaminade tried gaining an additional tip-in layup on the second free throw, but the 'Birds got the rebound to win it all 83-81.

"Was proud of our guys resilience in a hostile road environment in a game of runs. We had some quality contributions off the bench from Liam and Loukas. We will try to get a quick recovery and raise our collective level against a talented Hawaii Pacific team."

Offensively, Peralta scored 10 points and added five assists, contributing significantly to the offensive efforts. Gibson Jr. recorded a perfect shooting performance, finishing with 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting. Switzer collected 12 rebounds, leading the team on the boards while also scoring 11 points, making it his first double-double of the season. Freshman Jones made an impact from beyond the arc in the first half, hitting three 3-pointers and adding two steals.

The Sunbirds have a record of 10-13 overall and 9-8 in PacWest play.

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