Menlo cut a late 11-point lead to just a single point, but failed to convert any of its three chances to tie the score or take the lead in the final 30 seconds of play. The Oaks final opportunity came when Fresno Pacific's Jesse Childs missed a free throw with six seconds left and Nick McCullar rebounded the errant shot. McCullar passed it ahead to Julian Harris, but the junior sharpshooter's potential game-winning 3-pointer was off as time ran out.

While the Oaks did find themselves in a large hole late in the game, it wasn't by chance that they were still in the game. Menlo never trailed by more than six points in the first half and led for six minutes, 22 seconds after taking its first lead since 2-0 on a Tim Kees field goal with just less than 11 minutes remaining.

Menlo controlled the game during the stretch and grabbed its largest advantage when Ryan Dung took a Drew Davis pass and swished a 3-pointer from the corner for a 27-18 lead with six minutes, 42 second to go before halftime.

Fresno Pacific - featuring more size, speed, and three NCAA Div. I transfers - used a 14-2 run to take a 32-29 lead on a James Lewis Jr. basket late in the half, but Oaks freshman forward Patrick Greene scored inside with just over a minutes to go to pull Menlo within a point. Greene then send the Oaks roaring into the locker room when he rebounded a Harris miss and tossed up a short jumper in the lane as the buzzer sounded, giving Menlo a 33-32 lead over the powerful Sunbirds.

Andrew Young started the second half with a three-point play that gave Menlo a 36-32 advantage that it held almost six minutes into the half. Tyler Rajnus tied the score at 49 midway through the half after the Oaks lost the lead, but Fresno Pacific was about to make its move.

The Sunbirds took full advantage of a struggling Oaks offense to rattle off a 14-3 spurt that ended with the visitors ahead 63-52 following a pair of Alex Davenport free throws. It was still an 11-point bulge for Fresno Pacific when Harris took a pass from Dejon Grant and sunk a 3-pointer to get Menlo within eight points with just over two minutes to play.

Harris made a pair of free throws with one and half minutes remaining before Rajnus forced a Craig Ash miss that led to a run out and another Harris 3-pointer. The Oaks pulled within 67-64 with 49 seconds left. Harris struck again, somehow finding space to drain a highly contested jumper that trimmed the Sunbirds lead to two points with 33 seconds still to play.

Following a Menlo timeout, Lewis Jr. took the inbounds pass and stumbled out of bounds, giving possession to the Oaks. Menlo turned the ball right back over on a controversial play during which a pass was tipped by a Fresno Pacific defender off the rear of the backboard before the Sunbirds corralled the ball. Menlo refused to panic, however, with Kees stealing ball and drawing a foul at the rim with 11 seconds to go. Kees made his first shot, but missed the tying attempt. Childs split two free throws with six seconds on the clock, leading to Harris desperate attempt that was partially blocked.

Harris led Menlo with 16 points while the six-foot-seven-inch Rajnus scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Dung netted nine points with Davis and Greene each adding seven. The smaller Oaks grabbed only three fewer rebounds than Fresno Pacific, but shot themselves in the foot at the free throw line, making 14-of-24 attempts.

Lewis Jr. led all scorers with 22, Todd Brown had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Ash tallied 11 points. Davenport chipped in nine points and six rebounds.