FRESNO, Calif. - Mike Crawley's career-best 35 points and 14 rebounds powered Fresno Pacific over Holy Names 85-84 on Thursday night in PacWest play. The Sunbirds came out firing early and used its highest scoring output of the season to pick up their second league victory of the season (2-11, 2-4 PacWest) and sixth straight win over HNU (1-13, 0-7 overall).
 
"I thought we did a good job of jumping on them early," said head coach C.J. Haydock. "The energy at the tip was at a high level, we played together and turned them over. As the game went on, I thought we shared it well and that gave us open shots in the paint. Give credit to Holy Names, but in the end, we really gritted it out tonight."
 
Crawley set the tone early with a flying alley-oop on FPU's first possession and never looked back, making 17-of-23 shots for the game-high 35 points. The 17 made field goals set a program record for a single game since the Sunbirds joined the NCAA Division II, while the 35 points marked the highest total for any FPU scorer this season. His 14 rebounds gave him his fourth double-double of the season and second in as many games. The junior added two assists, two blocks and two steals to his line.
 
"Mike is the toughest kid I've ever met," noted Haydock. "He is unbelievably tenacious and keeps coming. He is leading us and doing all the right things. He's a complete winner. I'm tremendously proud of his effort and it's a privilege to coach a guy like that."
 
T.J. Viney totaled 13 points, six assists and four rebounds, while Kavika Jimenez added 12 points and three assists for FPU. The Sunbirds shot 49 percent from the floor in the win, out-rebounded the Hawks 45-30 and out-scored their opponents 56-24 in the paint.
 
The Sunbirds led by as many as 16 during the game before holding off a furious rally from HNU in the closing minutes. FPU jumped out to 16-3 lead in the opening five minutes, highlighted by two dunks from Crawley. The second slam came on a fast-break pass off the backboard from Viney that sent the crowd wild. FPU went on to lead 43-36 at the intermission.
 
The Hawks chipped away throughout the second stanza, eventually taking the lead by one with 7:23 to play. The Sunbirds, however, used a steady diet of Crawley to eventually earn the lead back. After FPU split its free throws with 13 seconds to play, HNU had a chance to knot the game at 85, but its three was off the mark and the rebound was tipped in by the offense as time expired to make the final 85-84.
 
Jason Webster led HNU with 20 points.
 
FPU is back in action on Monday in PacWest play at Point Loma at 7:30 p.m.