Junior guard Andrew Schmalbach drained six three-pointers and sophomore guard Blake Bender made six of 11 from the field and eight of 11 from the free throw line as both players scored 20 points in a 72-65 loss to #6 Fresno Pacific (15-3, 8-0) on Tuesday night at Murchison Gymnasium.

Schmalbach nailed a three-pointer to start the game and sophomore forward Dan Rasp (13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists) added a jumper as the Warriors posted a 5-0 lead to start the game. With the game tied at 14-all and just under 12 minutes to play in the first half, Fresno Pacific put together an 18-5 run to post a 32-19 advantage with 4:23 remaining on the clock.

Apparently, Bender found that unacceptable as he scored all the points in a 9-2 Warrior run to close out the half that cut the deficit to just six (34-28) at the half.

“I was really proud of the way the guys battled back when Fresno Pacific had that 13-point lead,” said head coach John Moore. “Blake had his best game as a Warrior and gave us what we needed in the first half. We made it close at halftime and played very well for the most part in the second half.”

Westmont picked up in the second half where it left off in the first. After Schmalbach knocked down a three-pointer, senior guard Tyler Dutton (7 points, 8 rebounds) followed suit with a three of his own, tying the game at 34-34. Schmalbach added another three and the Warriors had their first lead (37-34) in more than 15 minutes of play.

“Tyler was the leading rebounder for the game between both games,” pointed out Moore. “I thought Andrew shot it well. He may have needed a little bit more of a rest in the second half. But when he is shooting they way he was shooting, you want to give him lots of opportunities.”

The score remained close over the next ten minutes with neither team having more than a three-point advantage. A layup by Schmalbach with 4:57 remaining in regulation put the Warriors up 60-56. FPU brought the ball down the floor and James Lewis (20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) put up a three from the right side. He missed, but, according to the only opinion that mattered, was fouled by Schmalbach. Lewis drained all three free-throws bringing the Sunbirds to within one point (60-59).

On the opposite end of Murchison, Bender was fouled going for a layup and made one of two attempts from the charity stripe to put the Warriors up by two (61-59) with 4:12 to play. The Sunbirds hurried down the court and put up three attempts from outside the arc, each followed by an offensive rebound. Marcus West (19 points, 3 assists) made sure the fourth three-point attempt went in, giving Fresno Pacific a 62-61 lead with 3:06 to play.

Though within one point (64-63) with 1:34 to play, the Warriors did not regain the lead.

“There were too many missed layups at the end,” said Moore, “and poor execution on rebounding at crucial times. We were up by nine rebounds in the first half, and then they out-rebounded us by ten in the second half. That’s a hard one to manage.

“If we had made our layups, I think it’s a ten point game our way,” continued the coach. “I thought we played some very good defense against a team that was incredibly confident and hot during the first half. To come back and play the way we did in the last five minutes of the first half and in the second half when they had already established their confidence is a good sign on our part.”

In other GSAC action, #15 California Baptist (14-3, 5-3) won at home against Point Loma Nazarene (12-7, 5-4) by a score of 77-72. Concordia (14-4, 5-3) picked up a 64-58 home win over Vanguard (4-12, 3-5). Azusa Pacific (12-6, 5-3) cruised to a 94-68 victory over Hope International (3-12, 0-8) and Biola (13-5, 4-4) earned a 65-54 road victory over #23 The Master’s (12-6, 4-4).

Fresno Pacific now has a three-game lead in the GSAC standings. A three-way tie for second place exists between California Baptist, Concordia and Azusa Pacific. Point Loma is in fifth place, three and one-half behind the leader. Westmont, Biola and The Master’s are all tied for sixth place, four games behind Fresno Pacific.

The Warriors will travel to Costa Mesa on Saturday to take on Vanguard before returning to Murchison on Tuesday to do battle with Azusa Pacific. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.

[box score]