Box Score

Fresno Pacific returned to PacWest play on Tuesday with a 76-65 victory over former GSAC rival Point Loma behind 33 points from guard John Taylor. The Sunbirds (7-5, 2-2 PacWest) were able to control the tempo of the game while the Sea Lions (3-7, 0-3 PacWest) attempted to slow the game down.

FPU's 76 points was the highest number of points a team has put on Point Loma this season (nationally-ranked San Diego State scored 79 on the Sea Lions in an exhibition).

Taylor's 33 points was one short of a season high. He shot 8-of-13 from the field, knocked down five three-pointers and made 12-of-17 from the line. Matt Samuels added 13 points and Antonio Credit had 10. Trevon Clayton narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

PLNU was led by Taylor Wetherell, who drained five three-pointers and would finish with 17 points.

"Point Loma is a team that likes to slow the game down, grind the shot-clock and make you guard for large periods of time," said head coach Chris Wright. "I thought our guys did a really good job of being solid, taking away the layups in their offense and making them take contested threes, which is what we wanted to do coming in."

The Sunbirds jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game and would hold PLNU without a field goal for the first four minutes. FPU would extend the lead to as many as 13 in the first half, going up 26-13 with eight minutes left after a Taylor three.

FPU led by eight with just over two and a half minutes left in the first half before the Sea Lions closed out the half on an 8-3 run, cutting the lead to 35-32 at the break after a Todd Campbell three-pointer as time expired.

The Sunbirds missed the presence of Malcolm Griffin in the first half. Griffin was in foul trouble all night after being hit with three quick foul calls in a span of six seconds in the first half. He would finish with eight points in 16 minutes played. The FPU bench would step up however, as Anthony Brant would give the team another top-notch defensive performance.

PLNU would take the lead early in the second half, but it would be short-lived as the Sea Lions had no answer for Taylor and the relentless Sunbird attack. FPU would gradually pull away and with a shortage of playmakers on offense, the Sea Lions would be unable to counter.

FPU out-shot the Sea Lions 48% to 37% on the night. The Sunbirds also forced 16 turnovers in the win. FPU dominated the inside game, outscoring PLNU 30-12 in the paint.

The Sunbirds turn their attention to rival Azusa Pacific this Saturday on the road. The Cougars are 1-0 in PacWest play, defeating Point Loma 51-50 last month.

"Azusa is an extremely well-coached team with a lot of talent," said Wright. "They're definitely one of the more storied small college programs on the West Coast. Our level of execution is going to have to be even better than where it was tonight. They're a little bit young but they're pretty physical and have a lot of toughness. Not only are we going to have to guard but we're going to have to take care of the glass, get 50-50 balls and do all the little things it takes to get a tough conference road win."