THE SCHEDULE
Game #17
at Notre Dame de Namur (3-12, 1-8)
Friday, Jan. 20 • 7:30 p.m.
Walter Gleason Gymnasium • Belmont, Calif.
Live Stats • Video
 
Fresno Pacific has a light week on tap, traveling to Belmont to face Notre Dame de Namur for the only game of the week. The Sunbirds will look to win its second straight game in PacWest play on Friday.
  
LAST TIME OUT
Fresno Pacific outlasted Chaminade in two overtimes, 112-108, last Saturday night in PacWest action at the Special Events Center. The Sunbirds made a season-best 13 threes and used a balanced scoring attack of four players in double-figures to earn the win in an instant classic. Mike Crawley led the Sunbirds with 27 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year, while adding two blocks and a pair of steals. Spencer Krannitz added 20 points, five assists and four rebounds and T.J. Viney totaled 17 points, five rebounds and three assists. The 220 combined points between the two teams set a new PacWest conference record for most points in single game and was only the seventh conference game where both teams scored 100. The Sunbirds' 112 points were the most points scored since Nov. 18, 2014.
 
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 faced 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 features 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 played its first overtime game of the season on Jan. 14…in the 112-108 double overtime win against Chaminade, the two teams set a record for most combined points in PacWest history…the 112 points scored was the most for FPU since Nov. 18, 2014…FPU made a season best 13 threes in the win over CUH…the Sunbirds snapped a six-game skid with their 85-84 win over Holy Names (1/5)…FPU's win against Academy of Art (12/1) snapped a five-game losing streak earlier this season…the 0-5 start to the year marked the longest drought to start a season since joining the NCAA Division II…senior point guard T.J. Viney is the only player to start all 16 games this season…Viney scored a career-best 19 points in the setback to Concordia (12/7)…Mike Crawley has recorded five double-doubles this season, including three in the last five games…Crawley scored a career-best 35 points in the win over HNU, making a program record (Division II era) 17 field goals….Crawley pulled down a career best 17 rebounds in a setback to Dixie State (1/3)…Spencer Krannitz is leading the team in scoring (13.6 ppg)…Krannitz scored a career-best 31 points against Western Washington (11/26)…head coach C.J. Haydock earned his first career victory on Dec. 1 with a 81-77 defeat of ART U.
 
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 ARGONAUTS
Notre Dame de Namur enters at 3-12 overall and 1-8 in the PacWest. The Argos have lost five straight, most recently dropping a PacWest match to Hawai'i Pacific 69-50. NDNU ranks last in scoring offense in the PacWest, averaging 64.3 points per game. Tre'shawn King-Dunbar leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game while adding 3.5 assists per night. Lance Page adds 11.5 points, while Brian Ying holds averages of 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per night.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's game will be the 17th meeting between the two schools. FPU holds a 14-2 all-time series advantage, winning the last seven meetings The Sunbirds defeated the Argos twice last season, 80-54 in Fresno and 92-90 in Belmont.
  
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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