KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A last second tip-in basket by Sylvestre Collins of Tougaloo College ends FPU's historic season with the Sunbirds losing in a heartbreaker at the buzzer 69-67 in the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Sunbirds started the game well setting the pace early-on to take a 5-3 lead. FPU then built up to a nine-point gap later on in the half with the period ending FPU 42, Tougaloo College 38.
Both teams shot well from the field in the first 20 minutes with Fresno Pacific shooting 50% (17/34) and TC hitting 46.7% (14/30).
The second half remained competitive throughout the entire period with neither team leading by more than six points. The game was tied five times in the period and all signs pointed to a close finish.
Notably, the Sunbirds’ shooting percentages fell in the second half. FPU shot 33.3% (8/24) from the field and struggled from behind the three-point line shooting just 18.2% (2/11) in the second period.
With 2:12 left in the game and the game on the line, Fresno Pacific took a 67-65 lead on two Todd Brown free throws. The Bulldogs came right back and Tougaloo’s Walter Howard returned the favor with a minute left to tie the game at 67 apiece.
With 25 seconds left, FPU did have the ball and a chance to take the lead, but the Sunbirds were called for an offensive foul, giving the ball to Tougaloo for one last chance.
The Bulldog’s Howard then got a final look at the basket and shot with time running out only to miss, but a Collins’ tip-in before the buzzer would seal-the-deal for Tougaloo College and advance them into the second round.
Fresno Pacific had four players score in double figures in the contest. Junior guard James Lewis led the Sunbirds with 21 points while junior forward Todd Brown added 19. Junior forward Kendall Holmes netted 14 and senior forward/guard Marcus West put up 11 points.
With the loss, FPU finishes the season with a 26-8 overall record while Tougaloo improves to 22-10 and advances to Friday's second round.