THE SCHEDULE
Game #8
at Concordia (4-5, 1-1 PacWest)
Wednesday, Dec. 7 • 7:30 p.m.
CU Arena • Irvine, Calif.
Live Stats • Video
 
Game #9
vs. Cal State LA (4-5, 1-1 CCAA)
Saturday, Dec. 10 • 3 p.m.
Special Events Center • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats • Video • Radio
 
Fresno Pacific has a two-game week on tap, the first coming mid-week against PacWest opponent Concordia in Irvine. The Sunbirds then host West Region foe Cal State LA in a non-conference matchup.
 
TOYS FOR TOTS
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 Saturday, Dec. 10, with donations being welcomed in the athletics offices throughout the week.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Sunbirds opened PacWest play last week with two games. FPU defeated Academy of Art 81-77 behind 23 points from Spencer Krannitz on Thursday. The Sunbirds had all five starters score in double-digits. FPU then fell to Point Loma, 73-62, despite holding the lead for 19:48 in the game. Krannitz led the way with 11 points, while R.J. Horn added 10 points and four 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.
 
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 snapped a five-game losing streak with its win over ART U (12/1)…the five-game drought marked the longest to start a season since joining the NCAA Division II in 2012-13…Thursday's win also marked the first victory in head coach C.J. Haydock's career…T.J. Viney and Rafail Eleftheriou are the only two players to start all seven games this season…the Sunbirds, however, have used the same starting lineup the last four games (Viney, Eleftheriou, Krannitz, McGee, Horn)… 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 senior from Michigan has scored in double-digits in four straight games, including two 20-point performances…freshman R.J. Horn scored a career-high 14 points on only five shots in FPU's win over ART U (12/1)…Adriel McGee matched his career high with 10 points in FPU's win over ART U (12/1)…Sam Burt made his Sunbird debut against ART U (12/1) after being ruled ineligible for the first five games of the year by the NCAA…the Sunbirds totaled a season-best 52 percent shooting percentage, scored a season-best 81 points and blocked a season-best five shots in the win over ART U (12/1)…Mike Crawley is the only Sunbird to record a double-double this season, which came on Nov. 27 against Alaska (15 pts, 11 rbs)…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 EAGLES
Concordia enters Wednesday's matchup at 4-5 overall and 1-1 in the PacWest. The Eagles most recently fell to Dixie State 82-76 in St. George on Dec. 3. CUI holds the fourth best scoring margin in the PacWest (1.0), while its scoring defense ranks fourth (70.0) as well. Justin Davis leads the Eagles in scoring and averages 12.6 points per game, while Brian Chambers comes off the bench to score 9.7 points per night.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday's game will be the 57th meeting between the two programs, with CUI holding a 40-16 all-time advantage. The Eagles won last season's meeting 69-63 in Fresno.
 
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Cal State LA enters at 4-5 overall and 1-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Golden Eagles are coached by Jim Saia, who was the head coach with FPU from 2007-09 and compiled 70 wins. CSULA averages 75.4 points per game and makes 9.3 threes per game, which ranks second in the CCAA. Travis Hammonds averages a team-best 16.6 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per contest, while Jordan Wilson adds 15.3 points per night.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's matchup will be the 10th meeting between the two schools, with the Golden Eagles holding a 7-2 all-time series advantage. The last meeting came during the 2014-15 season, as the Golden Eagles earned a 56-55 win in Los Angeles.
 
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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