By Jacob Norling
January 10, 2026
 
(FRESNO, Calif.) Westmont Men's Basketball (6-7, 3-4 PacWest) dropped their third in a row on Saturday night, with Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (4-8, 3-3) holding on late for a 73-69 win. After a lackluster opening period both offensive and defensively, the Warriors pushed the Sunbirds for all 20 minutes in the second. In the end, however, the deficit would be too large to overcome.
 
"The reality of tonight's game is that we did not shoot the ball well enough to win," said Westmont head coach Justin Leslie. "It was a very, very poor performance offensively. In some ways, we were fortunate we only lost by a close margin. We did a fine job responding and making adjustments after halftime, but in order to win games on the road, no matter where you are, we have to be more consistent in our approach and in our execution."
 
Fresno Pacific's ever-aggressive reputation remained ever-true on Saturday afternoon, when the Sunbirds ran downhill during the first half of action. Westmont had a little more than held serve during the first 10 minutes of action, with a layup from JV Brown giving the Warriors a half-high 20-15 advantage. Over the final ten minutes of the first half, however, the Warriors would concede nearly 30 points to a Fresno Pacific team that shot over 65% during the half in total. That hot streak for FPU coincided with another cold streak from Westmont's offense, which shot just 38.9% from the field (14-36), and 17.6% from beyond the arc (3-17).
 
The Sunbirds also earned a dozen free throws during the first half, with FPU landing 10 of their looks from the charity stripe. The Warriors, who made only one trip to the line during the first half, turned the ball over only twice during the opening period. It was their inefficiency with the ball, combined with FPU's extreme efficiency, that allowed the Sunbirds to rattle off a 29-13 run over the half's final 10 minutes. The 44 points that Westmont allowed was the most they had surrendered in any opening half all season.
 
"At halftime we talked about how we were doing some things to shoot ourselves in the foot on the offensive side of the ball," said Leslie. "We weren't turning it over, which was great, but some of the shots we were taking were just as good as turnovers. It led to something good for FPU more often than not."
 
Down 44-33 to open the second half, Westmont would miss their first eight field goal attempts before Aidan Mandel brought them back within a dozen with 17 minutes to play (47-35). Five minutes after that, Westmont had made things a bit more interesting when some baskets and free throws began to follow stops on the defensive end. With 11:20 remaining, however, the Warriors missed a pair at the free throw line to halt momentum for the time being (52-43). FPU once again went up 12, before Caleb Gilbert drilled a three-ball to keep Westmont in the picture with over eight minutes to go. Coming out of the game's penultimate media timeout, Jarrett Bryant made a trip to the free throw line to make it a 56-49 contest (7:27).
 
No further dents would be made for another three minutes, before a second chance layup from Trey Thompson made it a 60-55 game. Heading into the game's final media stoppage, however, the deficit was once again at seven (62-55). Then, with 3:12 to play, Braedon Bigott made it a four-point game with a clutch three-pointer, just their fifth in 27 tries.
 
With 2:30 remaining, the Warriors were on the receiving end of an upgraded flagrant foul, after Alex Williams wore the brunt of a collision with an eventually-ejected FPU Sunbird. This gave Westmont two free throws, and possession. After one make in two tries, it became a 64-61 game. Chase Collins then tried a game-tying three in the far corner, but instead, it became Westmont's 23rd miss from downtown. After a defensive stop, Bigott then drove down the lane and wore some contact to earn a whistle. With under two minutes to play, Bigott gave himself 19 points on the night, and more importantly, made it a two-point contest (64-62). Then, momentum halted for a moment when FPU's Isaac Peralta converted both ends of an and-one opportunity, making it a 67-62 game as the contest entered its final minute. The Warriors once again made it a one-possession game with 30 seconds remaining, but at that point, it became a game of free throws for FPU.
 
The Sunbirds got both of their first two tries, but Mandel then landed a last-minute three with 16 seconds to go. With eight seconds to play, the Sunbirds had a chance to ice it at the line, but made just one of two. This sent the Warriors into a huddle down 71-68 while trying to plan for the possibility that FPU may foul.
 
The Warriors put the ball in the hands of Trey Thompson, who dribbled for three seconds before getting fouled across midcourt. Thompson made the first, and then FPU anticipated an intentional miss on the second, with four seconds remaining. Thompson did intentionally drill the front of the rim, giving the Warriors a chance to try and steal one more opportunity. Instead, the Sunbirds recovered possession, and iced the game at the free throw line to officially win it 73-69.
 
"Here's what the difference was," explained Leslie. "In the first half, we were taking the wrong shots and missing them. That led to them having opportunities to score. In the second half, we passed on average shots, and we took better ones. We just missed them, too. Again, though, the difference is we were in position for o-boards, and we were in position to get back in transition. You hold them to 29 points on their home floor in the second, you have to feel good about your chances."
 
Westmont cut FPU's shooting percentage nearly in half in the second period (38.5%), but unfortunately, could not improve enough on their own (34.3%). Not only did Westmont struggle from the field, but in the second half, Westmont also made just nine of 19 from the free throw line. On the other end, FPU converted eight of 11.
 
"Statistically, our two halves look similar," pointed out Leslie, "but it was a drastically different basketball game in the second half. Give the guys credit, they took what we talked about at halftime and made some really quality adjustments that we've been needing to make for some time.
 
"My prayer now is that it turns the switch, and that we are ready to play that way more consistently. Road games are hard to win. It doesn't matter who you play or where it's at, winning on the road is difficult. The way we went about a lot of things in the second half is who we are going to have to be more consistently if we are going to win on the road."
 
Westmont will play on the road once more come Thursday night in La Mirada, where the Warriors will take on the Biola Eagles at 7:30 p.m.
 
"We know we can beat anybody," affirmed Leslie, "but unfortunately, if we don't stay true to our character and what we're trying to accomplish, we can also lose those games. Our margins are small. We have to fight for the details, and just continue showing up.
 
"We're going to get home safe, we're going to get up on Monday, and we're going to have a great start to the spring semester. I told the guys they should be ready for class on Monday, and then on Monday night, be ready to put our best foot forward as we get ready for Biola."