There would be no miraculous performance from John Taylor this time.

And no spot in the National Christian College Athletic Association Division I men's basketball championship for Fresno Pacific.

With Taylor in foul trouble, the top-seeded Sunbirds fell behind by 16 early and never completely recovered in a 104-94 semifinal loss to fifth-seeded Shorter (Ga.) on Thursday in Winona Lake, Ind.

Taylor, who scored a school-record 50 points Wednesday in a 113-101 win over Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.), picked up three first-half fouls and added his fourth with 11 minutes to play. He still finished with 27 points as he continued a high-scoring first year that has seen him set the school single-season record.

The Sunbirds (21-8) will play in the third-place game at 7 a.m. Saturday against second-seeded Cedarville (21-9) of Ohio.

Shorter (20-11) will face third-seeded Oklahoma Christian for the title. The Eagles beat Cedarville 79-66 in the other semifinal.

Fresno Pacific trailed 54-39 at halftime, but opened the second half on an 11-0 run -- including five points from Malcolm Griffin. The Hawks responded with a 14-4 spurt.

Shorter's lead ballooned to 89-67 on a pair of Anthony Banks free throws with 5:34 left. Banks paced Shorter with 28 points.

Griffin had 29 points and 10 rebounds and Matt Samuels 16 points for Fresno Pacific. The Sunbirds committed 18 turnovers.