THE SCHEDULE
Game #6
vs. Academy of Art (1-5, 0-0)
Thursday, Dec. 1 • 7:30 p.m.
Special Events Center • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats • Video • Radio
 
Game #7
vs.  Point Loma (3-3, 0-0)
Saturday, Dec. 3 • 4 p.m.
Special Events Center • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats • Video • Radio
 
Fresno Pacific begins PacWest play this week with two home games as the Special Events Center. The Sunbirds face Academy of Art on Thursday before taking on Point Loma on Saturday.
 
TOYS FOR TOTS
On Saturday, the Fresno Pacific student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC) is teaming up with the Toys for Tots Foundation to collect and distribute toys as Christmas gifts to children in the community. Toys have a suggested value of $5 or more and must be unopened and age appropriate. Those who are not able to attend the game can still donate toys to the local community by visiting www.toysfortots.org/donate. The Toy Drive will run until next Saturday, Dec. 10, with donations being welcomed in the athletics offices throughout the week.
 
UGLY SWEATER NIGHT
Dig into the closet and pull out your ugly sweater for Saturday's game against Point Loma!


 





















LAST TIME OUT
FPU competed in the Chuck Randall Classic in Bellingham, Wash. last week, dropping both games. The Sunbirds fell to Western Washington 75-66 and Alaska Fairbanks 74-58. Spencer Krannitz was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 20.5 points and 1.5 blocks per game. The senior scored a career-high 31 points in the setback against the Vikings.
 
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.
 
SCHEDULE NOTES
The Sunbirds opened the regular season at home with the PacWest/GNAC Challenge that featured Point Loma, Saint Martin's and Western Oregon. 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
FPU is off to its worst start in school history since joining the NCAA Division II in 2012-13…T.J. Viney and Rafail Eleftheriou are the only two players to start all five games this season…Mike Crawley is the only Sunbird to record a double-double this season, which came on Nov. 27 against Alaska (15 pts, 11 rbs)…Spencer Krannitz missed the first two games of the season due to injury, but scored a career-high 31 points in his first start on Nov. 26…The Sunbirds have had nine players make their debut this year: Jimenez, Crawley, R.J. Horn, Rafail Eleftheriou, Jordan Belasco, Adriel McGee, Sam Holmes, Martin Arambula and Evan Stillahn.
 
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 URBAN KNIGHTS
Academy of Art currently sits at 1-5 overall on the season. The Urban Knights are currently in the midst of a four-game losing streak, most recently falling to Cal State East Bay 78-71. The Urban Knights are scoring 68 points per contest and average the second fewest turnovers per night in the PacWest at 11.3. Chris Salas leads the offense with 11.2 points per game and adds 6.2 rebounds per contest.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's game will be sixth meeting between the two programs, with FPU leading the all-time series 4-1. The Sunbirds swept the season series last year by scores of 98-85 and 70-59.  
 
ABOUT THE SEA LIONS
Point Loma currently holds a 3-3 overall record. The Sea Lions host California Baptist on Thursday prior to the matchup with FPU on Saturday. PLNU is riding a three-game winning streak, most recently defeating Seattle Pacific 86-79. The Sea Lions rank towards the top of the conference in several statistical categories: blocked shots per game (3.7), rebounding margin (7.8) and scoring margin (1.2). Josh Rodriguez leads the offense with a scoring average of 18.8 points per game and adds 5.3 assists per night, while Vince Boumann adds 13.5 points and league-best 9.2 rebounds per night.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's matchup with be the 75th all-time meeting between the two schools, with PLNU holding a 38-36 advantage. The Sea Lions won the only meeting last year 79-76 in Fresno. 
 
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.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA - #TeamFPU
FPU Athletics on Facebook
(/fpuathletics)
FPU Athletics on Twitter
(@fpusunbirds)
FPU Athletics on Instagram
(@fpusunbirds)
FPU Athletics on YouTube
(fresnopacificuni)
FPU Men's Basketball on Twitter
(@FPU_MBB)
FPU Men's Basketball on Facebook
(@fpubasketball)