Box Score

After struggling to find its rhythm for most of the night, Fresno Pacific outscored Cal Maritime 16-7 in overtime to defeat the visiting Keelhaulers 90-81 and improve to 2-2 on the season.

Antonio Credit scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half and overtime, and John Taylor poured in 30 points on the night to lead all scorers. Malcolm Griffin added 15 points, nine rebounds and four steals.

FPU overcame a dismal free-throw shooting night, getting to the line 42 times but making just 23 (55%). Taylor hit 15-of-17 from the line, but the rest of the team just 8-for-25.

The Keelhaulers (4-2) got a three-pointer from Grant Blaser with one second left in regulation to tie it. Howie Manzo led the team with 23 points, knocking down six three-pointers, and Blaser added 16 points off the bench.

The Sunbirds led by as many as 10 in the first half before the Keelhaulers closed out the half on an 11-3 run to trail by just two at halftime.

The Keelhaulers were firing off shots from the three-point line all night, making 13-of-38. Their hot shooting in the second half would allow them to take a 54-47 lead over the Sunbirds with just under ten minutes left.

FPU battled back though as Taylor began to connect from beyond the arc and Credit was nearly unstoppable inside. With those two carrying the offensive load, the Sunbirds built up a 69-64 lead with two minutes left.

The Keelhaulers would fight back to tie it up at 69, but a Taylor three-pointer with 48 seconds left gave FPU a 72-69 lead. FPU would maintain the three point lead heading into the final possession. Blaser got an open look at a three, missed it, but ran and grabbed the long rebound before launching an off-balance three and knocking it down with one second left to send the game to overtime.

The Sunbirds would come alive in the overtime however with Rickey Vick providing the early spark. Vick knocked down a three from the corner to start things off in the extra period and then delivered a breakaway layup on the next Sunbird possession to put FPU up 79-74.

The Sunbirds would extend the lead to as many as 11 and Taylor would ice the game with late free-throws.

"We've got to get a lot better," said head coach Chris Wright afterward. "Any time you can learn from an ugly win like this is a lot better than learning from an ugly loss but we've got a long ways to go. We have to be more solid on both ends of the floor."

Credit led all players with 11 rebounds for the double-double and Matt Samuels had a team-high six assists for FPU.

"Tone did a phenomenal job tonight," said Wright. "He was a monster and was really the difference in the game down the stretch."

FPU dominated the paint 48-24 and outscored the Keelhaulers 16-2 on fastbreak points. Cal Maritime got a huge lift from its bench however, outscoring FPU's bench 29-5.

The Sunbirds face Simon Fraser on Friday and #18 Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday in the Notre Dame de Namur Thanksgiving Classic.

"We've got two very difficult games this weekend," said Wright. "Simon Fraser is a GNAC team off to a very good start and Cal Poly is a regional power in the NCAA Division II and is extremely well-coached. We're going to find out how we stack up against some of the top teams in the West."