Box Score

VALLEJO, Calif. - #24 Fresno Pacific improved its record to 7-3 heading into Christmas break, picking up a decisive 79-60 win over Cal Maritime on the road Thursday night.

Antonio Credit led the Sunbirds with 21 points, George DeLeon added 20, and FPU put together its best free-throw shooting night of the season (82.4%). Zach Kaul chipped in with 12 points, while Matt Christman finished with 10.

The Sunbirds held the Keelhaulers (6-8) to 35 percent shooting and would force 25 turnovers, controlling the game from the tip to the final horn. Every Sunbird player got minutes in the win, with Cleveland Mitchell and Christian Fuentes netting their first points of the season.

FPU led 34-27 at halftime, despite turning the ball over 15 times in the half. The team would come out of the locker room more focused, turning the ball over just twice over the final 20 minutes and outscoring the Keelhaulers 45-33 in that span.

"This could be the best game we've played all season from start to finish," said FPU Head Coach Chris Wright. "The guys had really good focus and are definitely improving. We're having less defensive breakdowns as the guys are beginning to understand the system more and more."

"They're a selfless group," Wright would go on to say. "I love the chemistry we have right now."

FPU out-rebounded CMA 33-27, with Christman, Credit and Jake Hager tied for the team high with six apiece. Isaiah Moore would lead the Keelhaulers as the team's only double-figure scorer, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds.

The Sunbirds will now take nearly two weeks off until their next set of games, when they'll play three days in a row at the Las Vegas Classic. Former NCAA Division II All-American Donte Nicholas will be suiting up for the first time this season as the Sunbirds take on Daemen College, La Sierra and Lethbridge beginning December 28.