Box Score

John Taylor scored 27 points and Antonio Credit added 19 points and 12 rebounds as Fresno Pacific defeated former head coach Jim Saia and the NAIA #20 Cal State San Marcos Cougars in an exhibition in Fresno on Saturday night.

The Sunbirds, fresh off a hard-fought 77-68 loss at Fresno State last night, took on a talented and athletic Cougar team that had just suffered a similar hard-fought setback against #20 San Diego State.

The victory was especially impressive considering that the Cougars, as an NAIA program with little practice regulation, had six more weeks of practice than the Sunbirds who were playing together for just the second time. It's very common to see NAIA programs have success early in the season against NCAA Division II opponents for this reason, but the Sunbirds would be one step ahead of the Cougars all night.

Both teams had great offense on display and the Sunbirds would lead much of the game with the Cougars right on their heels. FPU built up a 12-point lead in the first half, up 46-34 with 2:50 remaining but the Cougars closed out the half on a 12-1 run to go into the break down 47-46.

Credit dominated the first half, scoring 15 of his 19 points. He would finish the game with five blocks as well.

"He's a guy that has improved so much in his time here," said head coach Chris Wright. "I thought he was the difference in the game. He was poised in the post and made great decisions all night."

The Cougars took a brief lead early in the second half but the Sunbirds would jump back on top, going up by as many as 10 with a Malcolm Griffin steal and layup with 9:58 to play.

CSUSM trimmed the lead down before Taylor hit one of the biggest shots of the night, draining a deep three, his fourth of the game to make it 80-72. The Sunbirds would extend the lead to 11 on a crafty drive and layup by Taylor to seemingly put the game out of reach with the score 85-74 and one minute left in the game.

The Cougars had other ideas though. A three-point play by Ali Langford and a three-pointer by Jacob Ranger made it a six-point game with 38 seconds left. FPU still appeared to be in control before they tried to catch the Cougar defense sleeping with a full court pass. The pass didn't have enough force though and was grabbed by the Cougars at halfcourt. Jose Rivera quickly knocked down a three and suddenly it was a one-possession game with 31 seconds left.

The Sunbirds got around the Cougars' pressure defense on the next play but Taylor fired a pass and Griffin couldn't quite hang on as it fell out of bounds giving CSUSM a chance to tie. The Cougars would have a golden opportunity as the Sunbird defender lost his footing at the top of the key, giving Ranger a wide open look. The shot was slightly long though and Credit was all over the rebound for FPU.

After making one of two free-throws to put FPU up four, CSUSM's Daniel Redmon raced down the court and banked in a three-pointer with three seconds left. The Cougars fouled Taylor, who hit both free throws, before Redmon got a decent look at a halfcourt shot that missed as time expired.

Langford led the Cougars with 21 points. Redmon added 16 and Rivera finished with 14 for CSUSM. Ranger added 11 points and six assists.

In addition to Taylor and Credit, Matt Samuels had 16 points and eight rebounds for FPU. Griffin finished with 12 points. Taylor and Samuels led the team with four assists apiece.

"Offensively we were immensely improved from last night," said Wright. "We had a lot of focus and did a much better job of sharing the ball."

The win avenged a 71-69 loss to the Cougars last season at San Marcos. Wright talked afterward about coaching against his former head coach, Saia.

"I wouldn't be the head coach without him and he's one of my best friends in the world," said Wright. "So it's definitely bittersweet in a game like this. They're a great team and I think they have a chance to win the whole thing in the NAIA."

FPU opens the regular season at the Dixie State Classic in Utah next weekend,  facing Colorado Mesa on November 9 and UC San Diego the following night.

An in-depth season preview of the 2012-13 team will be released this week.