THE SCHEDULE
Exhibition #1
at UC Davis (1-1)
Wednesday, Nov. 18 •  7 p.m.
The Pavilion • Davis, Calif.
Live Stats •  Video • Audio

Exhibition #2
at CSU Bakersfield (2-0)
Friday, Nov. 20 • 12 p.m.
Icardo Center • Bakersfield, Calif.
Live Stats • Video • Audio

Game #3
vs. Cal Maritime (5-1)
Saturday, Nov. 21 • 6 p.m.
Special Events Center • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats • Video • Audio

The Fresno Pacific men's basketball team is back in action with three games this week.The Sunbirds will face a pair of Division I teams in exhibitions before hosting Cal Maritime in their 2015-16 home opener. FPU will face UC Davis on Wednesday and CSU Bakersfield on Friday on the road. The Sunbirds will then host Cal Maritime at the Special Events Center on Saturday at 6 p.m.

PROBABLE SUNBIRD STARTERS
PG - #10 Tyrone Viney Jr. (Jr., 5-9/160): 6.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.0 RPG, .714 FG%
G - #1 Madison Higgins (Sr., 6-2/175): 12.0 PPG, 6 3FGM, 1.5 APG
G - #23 Roger Paul (Sr., 6-2/170): 17.0 PPG, 2.5 APG, 3.5 RPG, .500 FG%
F - #15 Andreas Bigum (Sr., 6-8/215): 5.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, .417 FG%
F - #24 Tyler Shea (SR., 6-8/225): 6.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, .556 FG%

WEEKLY REWIND
The Sunbirds opened the 2015-16 campaign at the PacWest/GNAC Challenge in Olympia, Wash. FPU finished 1-1 on the road trip, earning a win over Saint Martin's, 82-75, before falling to #21 Western Oregon, 82-73. Roger Paul led the Sunbirds over the Saints on Friday with 15 points, as head coach Tim Kisner picked up his first career victory. Madison Higgins added 13 points, Gabe Solarin had 12 and Spencer Krannitz scored 10 in the win. FPU then fell on Saturday to the Wolves despite Paul's game-high 19 points.

Box vs. Saint Martin's
Box vs. #21 Western Oregon

SUNBIRDS ON THE RADIO
FPU Athletics has entered into an agreement with local radio station AM 1680 The Answer to provide a broadcast home for the Sunbirds, beginning with the upcoming men's basketball season. AM 1680 The Answer (KGED) will broadcast all 14 men's basketball home games, beginning with the home opener vs. Cal Maritime on November 21. The station will also air a weekly Sunbird Sports Show covering all 14 of FPU's athletics teams. The listen live link can be found above.

SCHEDULE NOTES
The Sunbirds opened the regular season in Washington where they faced St. Martin's and defending GNAC champion Western Oregon on November 13-14. The team plays its regular season home opener November 21 against Cal Maritime.

FPU's non-conference slate also includes three Division I in-state opponents: CSU Bakersfield, UC Santa Barbara and defending Big West champion UC Davis. The team also begins a series with its closest geographical NCAA Division II opponent, Stanislaus State, as the Sunbirds host the Warriors on Thanksgiving weekend.

The team's 20-game PacWest schedule includes home games against Point Loma, Dixie State and new conference member Concordia. The top six teams in the league qualify for the PacWest Tournament in Irvine, March 3-5, with the winner receiving the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

PACWEST PRESEASON POLL
FPU was picked to finish 11th in the 2015-16 Pacific West Conference standings according to a poll of the league's coaches. California Baptist received 195 points and 13 of a possible 14 first-place votes to top the poll. BYU-Hawaii, last season's PacWest Tournament winner, was second with 169 points and one first-place vote. Following the two were last season's co-PacWest champions Dixie State and Azusa Pacific in third and fourth, respectively. The Red Storm garnered 166 points while the defending NCAA Division II West Region champion Cougars amassed 146 points. Rounding out the poll was Chaminade (130 points), Hawaii Pacific (123), Point Loma (120), Concordia (101), Dominican (91), Hawaii Hilo (74), FPU (55), Academy of Art (48), Notre Dame de Namur (32) and Holy Names (20).

ROSTER NOTES
First-year head coach Tim Kisner inherits four returners from the 2014-15 team, including the team's second-leading scorer Madison Higgins (14.1 ppg). Roger Paul (10.9 ppg), Gabe Solarin (60 3FGM) and Oliver Herting (.558 FG%) also return for the Sunbirds. The roster will feature nine newcomers - Suhail Mohammadi (PG), Spencer Krannitz (G), Tyrone Viney Jr. (PG), Kiree Hutchings (PG), Andreas Bigum (F), Zach Bartley (C), Tyler Shea (C), Jeff Bartley (F) and Dominik Tannis-Harriet (PG).

FPU will have a hole to fill in the frontcourt with the graduation of All-PacWest pick Trevon Clayton. He finished the season as the only player in the PacWest to average a double-double with 11.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He led the conference in total rebounds (291), rebounds per game, double-doubles (13) and minutes per night (36.9).

The roster features eight California natives and two international student-athletes.

SUNBIRD NOTES
The Sunbirds won their second consecutive season opener, with both coming against Saint Martin's...FPU is 2-2 during the Division II era in season openers...Roger Paul has led the Sunbirds in scoring in both games this season...Paul ranks 32nd in the nation in free throws made (16)...The Sunbirds rank 36th in Division II in field-goal percentage defense at 37 percent...FPU went 0-3 in exhibitions last season, falling to Biola, Cal State San Marcos and Long Beach State...The Sunbirds last defeated a Division I team in 2008-09, a 79-64 win over San Francisco.

HEAD COACH TIM KISNER
Tim Kisner is currently in his first season as head coach of the Sunbirds. Kisner brings a strong track record of success as both a player and a coach and has spent the past four years as the associate head coach at Lake Superior State in Michigan, a nationally-ranked NCAA Division II program. Kisner arrived at LSSU in 2011 and after spending the first two years solidifying a foundation for the program, helped deliver the most successful two-year stretch in school history with back-to-back GLIAC championships and NCAA tournament bids in one of the nation's toughest regions. The team posted a combined record of 53-13 during that span and reached the NCAA tournament's second round both seasons before falling to the tournament's #1 seed. A four-year starter at point guard for NCAA Division I Central Michigan University from 1997-2001, Kisner was captain of the team that took home the 2001 MAC championship, the school's first conference title in 15 years.

ABOUT THE AGGIES
UC Davis, under head coach Jim Les, currently stand at 1-1 overall. UC Davis lost its season opener against North Dakota State (79-71) before defeating Portland (79-66). The Aggies, last season's Big West champs, are averaging 75 points per game and are holding opponents to 72.5 points per contest. Josh Fox leads UCD with a 15.5 scoring average, while Darius Graham is contributing 12.5 points per contest. Brynton Lemar (12 PPG), Neal Monson (11 PPG) and Nolan Berry (10.5 PPG) are also averaging double-figures.

SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday's matchup will be the 13th meeting between the two schools, with the Aggies holding a 9-3 all-time series advantage. FPU won the last meeting in 1992-93 when UCD was a member of Division II.

ABOUT THE ROADRUNNERS
CSU Bakersfield, under head coach Rod Barnes, currently sits at 2-0 on the season. The Roadrunners have defeated San Diego Christian (93-69) and Idaho (68-45) to start the season. Damiyne Durham leads CSU Bakersfield with a 20.5 scoring average, while Aly Ahmed nets 18 points per contest. Kevin Mays (12 PPG) and Dedrick Basile (10.5) are also averaging double-figures for the Roadrunners.

SERIES HISTORY
Friday's matchup will be the 20th meeting between the two schools with the Roadrunners holding a 18-1 all-time series advantage over the Sunbirds. The last meeting was in the 2000-01 season, as CSU Bakersfield earned a 62-57 win.

ABOUT THE KEELHAULERS
Cal Maritime, under head coach Bryan Rooney, enters at 5-1 overall. The Keelhaulers most recently defeated the Master's College, 92-70, and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 67-60. Cal Maritime is averaging 77 points per game and hold opponents to 68 points per contest. Daniel Radford leads the offense with a 13.3 scoring average, while Zach Davis adds 12.7 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's matchup will mark the seventh meeting between the two schools. FPU holds a perfect 6-0 all-time series advantage over Cal Maritime. The last meeting came in 2012-13 with the Sunbirds earning a 90-81 overtime win in Fresno.

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UP NEXT
The Sunbirds continue non-conference action next week against Stanislaus State on Saturday, Nov. 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Special Events Center.