SAN DIEGO, Calif. - In the first round of the PacWest Championships, Fresno Pacific men's basketball left it all on the court in the Golden Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon. Although the 'Birds were trailing for the first half, a valiant comeback to tie it up at 50 gave them a fighting chance against Concordia University Irvine. In the end, FPU wrapped up postseason play with a 60-70 loss to the Golden Eagles to close out the season 14-15 overall.

In the first half, Liam Switzer won the jump ball to kick off the first round of the PacWest Championships. In retaliation to the Golden Eagles first shot, senior point guard Isaac Peralta responded with a layup in the first two minutes. After Nick Davidson fought to get his first points on the board, Peralta kept the offense moving with another drive to the net and several assists down the line. Despite missing their leading scorer, Seth Brown, the 'Birds continued to push forward.

"I thought we were pretty overwhelmed in the first half," mentioned head coach C.J. Haydock. "It was just a stage we didn't respond well to, especially defensively. Without Seth, I thought we were pressed a little bit offensively, and really missed his maturity, leadership, and shot making. Thankfully, Isaac was really steady and carried us in the first half."

After attempting a layup, Amar Hot sent a deep throw back to an awaiting Peralta, far from any Golden Eagles, who sank a buzzer-beater three-pointer at 14:39. Not too long after Harrison Pennisi was a defensive force as he collected a great block then scored a hard-fought layup to bring the score to 15-10. The Golden Eagles had long possessions as they wound down the shot clock, but the 'Birds remained ahead. Half of the scoring for CUI came from a singular player as he continued to apply pressure to FPU, slowly chipping away at their lead.

A great response by Davidson resulted in the first free throws for the 'Birds, making it a four-point lead. However, several floaters and shots from beyond the arc allowed the Golden Eagles to recapture the lead, 21-19. The Blue and Orange struggled to find their footing as CUI took advantage of multiple turnovers, holding the 'Birds back from scoring for nearly three minutes. Peralta, All-PacWest Third Team selection, broke the streak with free throws from the line, diminishing the deficit to 23-31. Unfortunately for the No. 3 seeded Sunbirds, the Golden Eagles stopped them from scoring as they pushed ahead 23-38 to end the half.

Although CUI continued its dominance, the Sunbirds made a significant push in the second half, gaining a three-point play at 19:08. Peralta fought through three Golden Eagle defenders to bring it to 26-40. An open drive to the net by Davidson made it 30-41 as both teams headed into a timeout. Several CUI turnovers gave FPU a chance to cut into the lead, executing a nine-point run. Slowly, but surely the Sunbirds were able to catch back up with the Golden Eagles with big contributions from Brandon Gibson Jr. and Harrison Pennisi. In true Sunbird fashion, a right corner three-pointer by Hot, assisted by Gibson Jr., made it a five-point game, 40-45. Coming off the bench, Hugo Gonzalez Garcia came in clutch with another big shot from downtown to bring it within four points, followed up with a drive by Pennisi to bring it to 45-47.

It was Gonzalez who recaptured the Sunbirds' lead with his back-to-back three-pointer, effectively coming back from the team's 17-point deficit at the half!

"I was really proud of resilience and second half run. I thought we found a real grit defensively in the second half, and grabbed control. Big shots from Hugo and Amar put us in a great spot, and then we just ran out of steam and couldn't close it in the last 6 minutes."

Both teams went into the final seven minutes tied at 50. Although the Golden Eagles were able to boost a couple of points ahead, made baskets from Gibson Jr. and Peralta kept the 'Birds in the game. As the clock ran out, CUI free throws continued to increase the deficit until the game finally ended FPU 60 – CUI 70.

Offensively, Peralta led the team by scoring 17 points and collecting eight rebounds while also recording three steals. Davidson added 13 points and provided two assists. Harrison Pennisi posted eight points and collected seven rebounds, contributing one block as well.

Haydock said, "I'm really proud of the step we took as a team the last three months. We rolled out six underclassmen, started three sophomores and a freshman in a postseason game today, and our future remains bright and full of opportunity to level up another level."

The Sunbirds closed out the season with a record of 14-15 overall and 13-9 in PacWest play. Despite being predicted to finish second in the preseason poll, the men's basketball team had a lot to celebrate throughout the season. Early in the season, the Sunbirds defeated Biola in overtime in the conference opener and later went on to sweep all three Hawaii schools on the road for the first time in program history. Two members of the team were picked as All-PacWest selections and were conference leaders or top contenders in several categories throughout PacWest play.

Capping off a decade of competition in the PacWest Conference, the 'Birds made their thrilling final appearance in the opening round of the conference tournament before heading to the CCAA in 2026. With head coach C.J. Haydock at the helm, the momentum from this match will surely carry the team forward into the new conference.

Click here to view the PacWest Postgame Press Conference for FPU Men's Basketball.
 

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