THE SCHEDULE
Game #18
vs. #5 California Baptist (17-1, 9-1 PacWest)
Monday, Jan. 23 • 7:30 p.m.
Special Events Center • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats • Video • Radio
 
Game #19
at Academy of Art (4-12, 3-7 PacWest)
Wednesday, Jan. 25 • 7:30 p.m.
Kezar Pavilion • San Francisco
Live Stats • Video
 
Game #20
at Holy Names (3-15, 2-9 PacWest)
Saturday, Jan. 28 • 4 p.m.
Tobin Gymnasium • Oakland, Calif.
Live Stats • Video
 
Fresno Pacific has three PacWest games this week, the first coming at home against #5 California Baptist. The Sunbirds will then hit the road for two road games in the Bay Area, taking on Academy of Art on Wednesday and Holy Names on Saturday.
  
LAST TIME OUT
Oliver Herting scored a career-best 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Fresno Pacific defeated Notre Dame de Namur 80-70 on Friday night in PacWest action. FPU used its best defensive effort of the year to earn its second straight victory.
 
Herting was a force in the middle throughout the night, making 11-of-14 shots and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. Herting did most of his damage in the second half with 22 points, which included a four-minute stretch where he scored 14 straight points for FPU.
 
The Sunbirds shot 54 percent from the field as a team. Spencer Krannitz added nine points, six rebounds and two blocks for FPU, while Mike Crawley totaled eight points, four rebounds and three assists. Suhail Mohammadi facilitated the offense with five assists and added seven points, while R.J. Horn dished out four assists.
 
MAGIC MIKE
Mike Crawley was named the PacWest Co-Player of the Week on Jan. 9. He averaged 25.5 points and 15.5 rebounds per game, and totaled nine assists, four blocks and four steals in two games for the Sunbirds. He had 16 points, a career-high 17 rebounds, two steals and two blocks in a three-point loss to PacWest leader Dixie State. He then scored a career-high 35 points on 17-of-23 shooting and had 14 rebounds in a win over Holy Names. His 17 field goals were an FPU DII record and the most in the conference this year, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk on the Sunbirds' first possession.
 
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 10 newcomers – Mike Crawley, R.J. Horn, Sam Holmes, Kavika Jimenez, Jordan Belasco, Adriel McGee, Sam Burt, Martin Arambula, Elijah Hill and Rafail Eleftheriou.
   
SUNBIRD NOTES
FPU is currently tied for eighth in the league standings (4-6), as the top six move on to the PacWest tourney…The Sunbirds have their first winning streak of the season after winning their last two games…Oliver Herting scored a career-best 29 points, in only 15 minutes, to give FPU a 80-70 win over NDNU on Jan. 20 and its second straight win…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 17 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 six 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 (13.2 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 LANCERS
California Baptist enters as the 5th-ranked team in Division II, and sits at 17-1 overall and 9-1 in league play. The Lancers are riding a nine-game winning streak, most recently defeating Dominican 86-72 on Saturday. CBU holds the best free-throw percentage in the nation (81.0) and is the 15th best scoring margin (15.9) team in D2. Michael Smith leads the Lancers and ranks fifth in Division II with a 24.6 points per game average. He adds 6.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per night. Kalidou Diouf tops the nation in field-goal percentage, boasting an impressive 71.7 percent mark from the field, and adds 6.7 rebounds per night.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Monday's game will be the 81st meeting between the two programs, with CBU holding a 47-33 all-time series advantage. The Lancers defeated the Sunbirds 88-80 on Dec. 17 this season. CBU has won the last five times the two teams have faced each other, with the Sunbirds last win coming during the 2012-13 season.  
 
ABOUT THE URBAN KNIGHTS
Academy of Art currently sits at 4-12 overall on the season and 3-7 in league action. The Urban Knights are currently in the midst of a five-game losing streak, most recently falling to Notre Dame de Namur 54-52 on Sunday. The Urban Knights are scoring 68 points per contest and rank atop the conference in turnover margin (3.9). Chris Salas leads the offense with a 10.9 points per game average and adds 5.9 rebounds per contest.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday's game will be seventh meeting between the two programs, with FPU leading the all-time series 5-1. The Sunbirds defeated the Urban Knights on Dec. 1 81-77 behind 23 points from Spencer Krannitz.
 
ABOUT THE HAWKS
Holy Names is 3-15 overall and 2-9 in league play and faces Chaminade on Monday ahead of Saturday's game. The Hawks have won two of their last three games, with wins coming against NDNU (79-68) and Hawai'i Hilo (89-85). Jason Webster leads the team with a 15.8 scoring average, while Jewels Sanders is the only other player averaging double-digits at 12.8 points per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will be the 29th meeting between the two schools. FPU holds a 22-6 all-time mark against HNU. The Sunbirds defeated the Hawks on Jan. 5 85-84 behind 35 points and 14 rebounds from Mike Crawley.
 
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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