AZUSA, Calif. – Fresno Pacific's Spencer Krannitz scored a career-high 30 points as the Sunbirds upset #19 Azusa Pacific, 94-90, on the road in PacWest play on Saturday. FPU closed the last five minutes of the game on a 17-5 run to earn its first win at Azusa since joining the PacWest.
 
The Sunbirds have now eclipsed last season's win total of nine and move to 10-9 overall and 5-7 in league action with the victory, while APU falls to 15-5 overall and 9-3 in the PacWest. The win also marked the first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent in the Division II era for the program.
 
"I'm proud of our guys," said head coach Tim Kisner. "We really persevered through some tough times and had a great mindset to keep competing tonight. Azusa (Pacific) has a great program and is so well coached, so I'm proud of our guys to be able to come away with the win."
 
Krannitz made 10-of-16 shots, including a trio of threes, en route to his game-high 30 points and added five rebounds and two assists. Madison Higgins tallied 20 points and six rebounds for the Sunbirds, while Gabe Solarin chipped in with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists. TJ Viney ran the offense well from the point guard position to finish with 13 points and three assists.
 
FPU trailed by eight, its largest deficit of the game, with 5:56 remaining before storming back to earn the win. The Sunbirds capitalized on three free-throw attempts before Viney nailed a three to cut the lead to a pair at 85-83. After Krannitz knotted the game with a layup, Viney drained a three as the shot clock expired to give the Sunbirds an 88-85 lead with 58 seconds left. FPU would hold the lead the rest of the way with free throws.
 
The Sunbirds held a 36-34 advantage at the half and led by as many as eight in the period.
 
FPU finished 54 percent from the floor in the win, while APU countered at 47 percent.  The Sunbirds finished 66 percent from the field in their 58 point second-half. FPU only committed six turnovers in the game, which marks a season low.
 
The Sunbirds last win on the road at the Felix Event Center came in the 2009-10 season, when both schools were a member of the NAIA.

LyDell Cardwell led APU with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.
 
The Sunbirds jump right back into conference action on Monday, as FPU hosts Notre Dame de Namur at 7:30 p.m.