THE SCHEDULE
Game #12
vs. Dixie State (7-4, 4-1 PacWest)
Tuesday, Jan. 2 • 7:30 p.m.
Special Events Center • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats • Video • Radio
 
Game #13
vs. Holy Names (1-11, 0-5 PacWest)
Thursday, Jan. 5 • 7:30 p.m.
Special Events Center • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats • Video • Radio
 
Fresno Pacific opens the 2017 calendar year with two PacWest games at the Special Events Center this week. FPU hosts Dixie State on Tuesday before facing Holy Names on Thursday.
  
LAST TIME OUT
The Sunbirds most recently fell to Stanislaus State 79-74 in non-conference action on Dec. 19. Mike Crawley led the Sunbirds with 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting and added five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Spencer Krannitz scored 12 points, while T.J. Viney and Kavika Jimenez added eight points apiece. The Sunbirds led by as many as 16 and held a lead for nearly 25 minutes, but the Warriors used 51 second-half points to escape with the victory.
 
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 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
The Sunbirds will look to snap a five-game skid on Tuesday…FPU's lone 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 11 games this season…Viney scored a career-best 19 points in the setback to Concordia (12/7)…Mike Crawley has recorded two double-doubles this season: 15 pts, 11 rbs vs. Alaska (11/27); 21 pts, 11 rbs vs. Cal State LA (12/10)…Spencer Krannitz is the only player averaging double-digits in scoring (13.9 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 TRAILBLAZERS
Dixie State currently sits at 7-4 overall and 4-1 in the PacWest. The Red Storm have won seven of their last eight games with their only loss coming in overtime to Azusa Pacific. DSU most recently defeated Point Loma 83-80 on Dec. 19 in St. George. The Red Storm has held its opponents to 40.7 percent from the floor, which ranks 35th in Division II. DSU makes a living at the free-throw line and ranks 11th in the nation with 350 attempts on the year. Trevor Hill leads the Red Storm with a scoring average of 15.1 points per game and adds 5.2 assists and 8.3 rebounds per night. Josh Fuller adds 13.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday's game will be the ninth meeting between the two teams, with Dixie State holding a 7-1 all-time series advantage. The Sunbirds won the first-ever meeting in 2012 (82-80), but have lost the last seven meetings. The Red Storm won both meetings last season, the first in St. George 93-65 and the second 99-88 in Fresno.
 
ABOUT THE HAWKS
Holy Names is 1-11 overall and 0-5 in league play and faces Point Loma on Tuesday ahead of Thursday's game. The Hawks have lost five straight, the latest to Azusa Pacific 93-70. HNU is allowing 80.6 points per game and holds a negative 11.7 scoring margin. Jason Webster leads the team with a 15.8 scoring average, while Jewels Sanders is the only other player averaging double-digits at 12.7 points per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's game will be the 28th meeting between the two schools. FPU holds a 21-6 all-time mark against HNU. The Sunbirds won both meetings last season, the first 77-67 in Oakland and the second 97-91 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.
 
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