THE SCHEDULE
Game #1
vs. Saint Martin's (0-0)
Friday, Nov. 11 • 8 p.m.
Special Events Center • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats • Video • Radio
 
Game #2
vs. Western Oregon (0-0)
Saturday, Nov. 12 • 7:30 p.m.
Special Events Center • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats • Video • Radio
 
The Fresno Pacific men's basketball team opens the 2016-17 regular season by hosting the PacWest/GNAC Challenge at the Special Events Center. There will be four games played in two days between FPU, Point Loma, Western Oregon and Saint Martin's. The Sunbirds will face Saint Martin's on Friday at 8 p.m. before taking on Western Oregon at 7:30 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Sunbirds had a preseason exhibition on Sunday against UC Santa Barbara. FPU fell to the Gauchos 82-62 but played the NCAA Division I opponent tough throughout the game. Kavika Jimenez led FPU with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Mike Crawley and Sam Holmes (3-of-5 3FG) added nine points apiece. Freshman R.J. Horn totaled eight points, including a pair of three pointers, Suhail Mohammadi grabbed six rebounds, dished out five assists and scored three points, and Rafail Eleftheriou scored five points to go along with six rebounds.
 
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 13 men's basketball home games, beginning with the home opener vs. Saint Martin's on November 11.
 
SCHEDULE NOTES
The Sunbirds open the regular season at home with the PacWest/GNAC Challenge that features Point Loma, Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. There will be four games played in two days at the Special Events Center, with FPU playing Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
 
FPU's non-conference slate also includes one other Division I in-state opponent: UC Riverside. The Sunbirds will also face Cal State East Bay, Western Washington, Alaska Fairbanks, Cal State L.A. and Stanislaus State in non-conference action.
 
The team's 20-game PacWest schedule includes home games against Point Loma, California Baptist, Dixie State and Azusa Pacific. The top six teams in the league qualify for the PacWest Tournament in Irvine, March 1-3, with the winner receiving the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Check out the full schedule.
 
PACWEST PRESEASON POLL
FPU was picked to finish 11th in the 2016-17 Pacific West Conference standings according to a poll of the league's coaches. California Baptist received 179 points and six first-place votes to top the poll. Azusa Pacific, last season's PacWest regular season champion, was second with 171 points and five first-place votes. Following the two were Dixie State and Concordia in third and fourth, respectively. The Red Storm garnered 161 points while Eagles amassed 156 points and one first-place vote. Rounding out the poll was Point Loma (140 points, one first-place vote), Chaminade (129), Hawai'i Pacific (118), BYU-Hawaii (96), Dominican (93, one first-place vote), Hawai'i Hilo (66), FPU (59), Academy of Art (45), Holy Names (32) and Notre Dame de Namur (25).
 
ROSTER NOTES
First-year head coach C.J. Haydock returns five from the 2015-16 team, including the team's second-leading scorer Spencer Krannitz (14.9 ppg, .507 FG%). T.J. Viney (6.0 PPG, 3.3 APG), Suhail Mohammadi (18.6 MPG, 3.9 PPG), Jeff Bartley (16 GP) and Oliver Herting (.687 FG%) also return for the Sunbirds.
 
The roster will feature 11 newcomers – Mike Crawley, R.J. Horn, Sam Holmes, Kavika Jimenez, Jordan Belasco, Evan Stillahn, Adriel McGee, Sam Burt, Martin Arambula, Elijah Hill and Rafail Eleftheriou.
  
The roster features 13 California natives, two international student-athletes and three out-of-state.
 
SUNBIRD NOTES
Since joining the NCAA Division II in 2012-13, FPU is 2-2 in season openers….the Sunbirds' two wins have come against Saint Martin's, each coming in the last two seasons by scores of 87-67 and 82-75….FPU is coming off a 14-13 season, which was a five-win improvement from the previous season….C.J. Haydock will be making his official head coaching debut on Friday.
 
HEAD COACH C.J. HAYDOCK
C.J. Haydock became the head men's basketball coach in April 2016 after serving as the program's lead assistant and recruiting coordinator during the 2015-16 season, following a highly-successful 11 years of coaching in the high school ranks. As an assistant, Haydock played an integral part in all aspects of running the program, working as the Sunbirds' recruiting coordinator and developing FPU's guards. He helped guide the program to its first winning record since 2012-13, a five-win improvement from the previous season. Haydock came to FPU after coaching locally at Immanuel High School where he led the Eagles to back-to-back Valley championships and a ranking as high as #1 in the state in 2014-15. Haydock, the 2015 Fresno Bee High School Coach of the Year, became the head coach at Immanuel in 2011, inheriting a program that had gone 4-23 the previous year. In four seasons with the Eagles he posted an overall record of 70-47, including a 30-3 mark in 2014-15, going undefeated against Central Section opponents across all divisions and reaching the Division IV state quarterfinals.
 
ABOUT THE SAINTS
Saint Martin's, under second year head coach Alex Pribble, is coming off a 15-13 season in 2015-16. It marked their first winning season since 2009-10. Senior guard Tyler Copp leads all five starters returning for the Saints, having averaged 10.1 points per game with 67 assists. Senior center Fred Jorg provides an experienced presence in the front court and averaged 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last season. The Saints were picked to finish eighth in the GNAC preseason poll.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Saints and the Sunbirds will be meeting for the third time, with FPU holding a 2-0 all-time series advantage. FPU defeated SMU last season 82-75 behind 51 second-half points. Suhail Mohammadi scored 12 points and grabbed six points off the bench in the win.
 
ABOUT THE WOLVES
Western Oregon enters receiving votes in the national poll after going 31-4 last season and reaching the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The Wolves return just one starter from last year's team – junior forward Tanner Omlid – and welcome eight newcomers in 2016-17. Head coach Jim Shaw is in his second season at Western Oregon. Shaw was the 2015-16 GNAC and NABC West Region Coach of the Year. Western Oregon was picked to finish sixth in the 2016-17 GNAC regular season title race by the league's coaches.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The two teams will be meeting for the fifth time, with the Wolves holding a 3-1 all-time series advantage over the Sunbirds. WOU defeated the Sunbirds 82-73 last year despite FPU shooting 48 percent from the floor. Spencer Krannitz had 10 points in the setback.
 
SHOP FPU
The Fresno Pacific Department of Athletics is proud to announce the opening of a Team Store that can be accessed on ShopFPU.com. Fans and students can now purchase apparel for all 14 athletic teams, along with numerous other items, throughout of the 2016-17 season.
 
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