Box Score

After finding themselves down by 10 at halftime to one of the PacWest's top teams, Fresno Pacific showed extraordinary resolve in the second half, fighting their way back into the game and running away with a 92-83 win over visiting BYU-Hawaii on Monday night.

John Taylor poured in a season-high 37 points (28 in the 2nd half) and Malcolm Griffin had a monster game, flirting with a quadruple-double to finish with 30 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and seven steals.

The Sunbirds (11-6, 6-3 PacWest) won their fourth straight game and improved to 9-0 at home on the season. FPU trailed 43-33 at halftime before exploding for 59 second-half points on 59 percent shooting.

The team came out of the locker room determined, and it would be the team's intensity on defense that led to the big offensive half. Rickey Vick, Anthony Brant, Matt Samuels and Taylor did a phenomenal job on perimeter defense, while Trevon Clayton, Antonio Credit and Griffin disrupted the Seasiders inside. Credit finished with a game-high 13 rebounds.

"I told our guys in the locker room that tonight's going to be the night when we win a game on the defensive end," said head coach Chris Wright. "That's what great teams do. They find ways to win when the ball's not going through the hoop."

BYUH still held a 10-point lead with under 15 minutes to play, before Taylor fueled an 11-0 FPU run. The Sunbird guard would score nine unanswered points, capped off by a three-pointer that brought the home crowd to its feet and gave FPU its first lead of the half 54-53.

The Seasiders immediately answered with a three, but Griffin came right back on the other end to tie it up. Griffin was relentless for the Sunbirds all night on both ends of the floor.

BYUH scored to go up 58-56, but Taylor was in the zone. With the Seasiders doing all they could to contain him, the Sunbird guard responded with consecutive three-pointers to erase the Seasider lead for good. That sparked a 19-4 run that put FPU up by 13 at 75-62.

"There was a stretch when we were just absolutely dominant on both ends of the floor," said Wright. "Tonight you saw why a player like JT [Taylor] has the green light. He was dominant. What impressed me most about him was that he equaled that intensity on the defensive end and locked down one of their best players coming out of the half."

The Seasiders would make a run late, getting within three with 1:13 remaining, but FPU quickly regained control and Taylor knocked down free-throws to ice the game. With the Seasiders pressing, Griffin put the exclamation point on the win with a fastbreak dunk that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

"Malcolm can really fill up a stat sheet," said Wright. "I can't say enough about what he brings to this team as a player and as a leader."

DeAndre Medlock led the Seasiders (9-7, 6-2 PacWest) with 24 points. Okesene Ale added 23 points in the loss. The Sunbirds did a good job of containing Medlock in the second half after giving up 17 points in the first half.

"Trevon and Tone were absolute warriors tonight," said Wright. "They really allowed us to control the glass despite being undersized."

The Sunbirds host Hawaii Pacific this Saturday at 4:30 pm, looking to improve to 10-0 on their home court. It will be Alumni Celebration "Orange-Out" Night and all fans are encouraged to wear orange.

The win puts the Sunbirds in sole possession of fourth place in the PacWest, behind Dixie State, BYU-Hawaii and Grand Canyon, all teams that have suffered a defeat to FPU in Fresno.