Box Score

After an ugly first half, FPU came together in the second half to down San Diego Christian 72-65. Jordan Wild and Jerante Morgan combined for 33 points and 19 rebounds in the win as FPU improved to 8-6 in conference play.

The Sunbirds trailed 30-27 at halftime, but would come out energized in the second half and it would go down to the wire from there. SDCC refused to back down, aided by a 13-for-25 shooting night from three-point range.

"Give San Diego Christian credit, they hit some clutch shots," said FPU coach Chris Wright. "We didn't have enough energy in the first half. At halftime we challenged our seniors to provide a spark and Jordan and Jerante definitely did."

Both Wild and Morgan would make some big shots down the stretch. Trailing 48-47, Wild finished a three-point play to put the Sunbirds up 50-48 with 7:51 to play. The Hawks would tie it, but Morgan would answer with a great spin move and jumper off the glass to put FPU back up two.

Wild then stole the ball, passed it upcourt and followed the play, scoring on a putback of a missed layup. The Hawks hit a jumper on the other end before Matt Christman hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game, draining a three pointer and being knocked down afterward. He completed the rare four-point play to make the score 58-52 FPU with 5:43 left.

The last five minutes was a battle as SDCC pressured the Sunbirds and continued to look for three-point shots. FPU would withstand the Hawks though with good ball movement and free-throw shooting. Deshaun Legree put the exclamation point on the win with a thunderous dunk in the final minute that made the score 70-62.

Legree finished with 11 points and Christman added 12. Wild and Morgan led the way with 18 and 15 points respectively. Wild had 10 rebounds and Morgan grabbed nine. The team used its athleticism to get to the line often and sank 27 of its 34 free throws (79.4%).

Jason Starr led the Hawks with 20 points and Aaron Felix added 18. SDCC fell to 7-17, 1-13 in conference play.

FPU (15-8, 8-6 GSAC) kept pace in the hunt for the conference's four-seed, moving ahead of Point Loma Nazarene and staying one game behind Westmont for the right to host a playoff game.

The Sunbirds get a very tough test on Thursday, traveling to Irvine to take on undefeated GSAC foe (NAIA #2) Concordia. FPU lost the first meeting by six points in Fresno, giving the Eagles one of their toughest games of the year.

Around the GSAC
Westmont 95, Hope International (H) 80
#2 Concordia (H) 89, The Masters 71
#18 Biola 75, Vanguard (H) 73 (OT)
#7 Azusa Pacific (H) 82, Point Loma Nazarene 70