FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific men's basketball team heads down South for two PacWest games this week. FPU will face Azusa Pacific on Wednesday and Concordia on Friday to start off the new year.

THE SCHEDULE
Game #15
at Azusa Pacific (9-5, 5-1 PacWest)
Wednesday, Jan. 3 • 7:30 p.m.
Azusa, Calif. • Felix Event Center
Live Stats • Video
 
Game #16
at Concordia (9-5, 3-3 PacWest)
Friday, Jan. 5 • 7:30 p.m.
Irvine, Calif. • CU Arena
Live Stats • Video
 
ABOUT THE SUNBIRDS
• FPU currently sits at 4-10 overall and 2-4 in conference action. The Sunbirds are coming off a 58-57 setback to Academy of Art on Saturday. Elijah Hill, who was making his collegiate debut, led the 'Birds with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal. He provided a spark off the bench and played 25 minutes, making 7-of-15 shots. Toby Christensen added 12 points, six rebounds and three assists, Jake Straughan totaled 11 points and Sam Burt chipped in with seven points and five rebounds.
• The Sunbirds are scoring 73.7 points per night while shooting an impressive .485 from the floor, which tops the PacWest. Burt leads FPU in scoring (14.1 ppg) and ranks second in the conference in field-goal percentage (.619) and is fourth in the PacWest in total rebounds (110, 7.9 rpg). Jake Straughan is adding 14.0 points per night, Adrian Antunez scores 10.4 points per game and Toby Christensen holds averages of 9.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
 
FPU LEADERBOARD
• Scoring: Sam Burt, 14.1 PPG
• Rebounds: Sam Burt, 7.9 RPG
• Assists: Adrian Antunez, 3.0 APG
• Blocks: Sam Burt, 8
• Steals: Adrian Antunez, 21
• FG%: Oliver Herting, .696
• Three-Pointers: Jake Straughan, 37
 
PACWEST HONORS
• Elijah Hill was named the PacWest Freshman of the Week on Monday. In his collegiate debut, Hill led FPU with 16 points and added six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal in a setback to Academy of Art. The freshman came off the bench to make 7-of-15 field-goal attempts, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc. Hill had eight points and four rebounds in the second half and nearly led the 'Birds over ART U.
• Adrian Antunez has been named the PacWest Freshman of the Week three times this season (12/20, 12/11, 11/13). The Clovis West product is the only player in the conference to be a repeat selection.
• Sam Burt was named the PacWest Player of the Week on Dec. 19 after averaging 19.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in two wins. The same week, Aamondae Coleman was tabbed the Freshman of the Week after averaging 10.0 points and 6.5 rebounds.
 
PACWEST PRESEASON POLL
• The Sunbirds were picked to finish 11th in the 2017-18 Pacific West Conference standings according to a poll of the league's head coaches. California Baptist received 178 points and 10 first-place votes to top the poll. Dixie State was second with 169 points and two first-place votes. Following the two were Point Loma and Concordia in third and fourth, respectively. The Sea Lions garnered 161 points and two first-place votes, while the Eagles amassed 154 points. Rounding out the poll was Azusa Pacific (142 points), Chaminade (132), Hawai'i Pacific (121), Dominican (94), Biola (79), Hawai'i Hilo (72), FPU (63), Holy Names (43), Academy of Art (37) and Notre Dame de Namur (25).

ABOUT THE COUGARS
• Azusa Pacific currently sits at 9-5 overall and 5-1 in league play. The Cougars have won three straight, most recently defeating Concordia 87-83 in overtime on Dec. 30 in Irvine.
• APU is fourth in the league in scoring margin (3.9) and ranks third in scoring defense (70.6). Darien McClain leads Azusa Pacific in scoring at 17.5 points per game, while Petar Kutlesic adds 12.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per night. Corey Langerveld is the other Cougar averaging double-digits (10.5 ppg).
 
SERIES HISTORY
• FPU trails 75-24 to APU in the all-time series. The Sunbirds have won the last two meetings, the most recent coming on Feb. 18 (77-73) in Fresno.
 
ABOUT THE EAGLES
• Concordia, who will face Point Loma on Wednesday, is 9-5 overall and 3-3 in the PacWest. The Eagles have lost two straight, the most recent to APU 87-83 on Saturday.
• CUI is averaging 79.9 points per game and is shooting .480 as a team, which ranks second in the conference. Brian Chambers (16.9 ppg) and JT Roach (16.9) lead the Eagles offensively.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• The Sunbirds trail 42-16 all-time to CUI. The 'Birds have lost the last 11 games against the Eagles.
 
FOLLOW US
• Get Social: Twitter - @fpusunbirds | Instagram - @fpusunbirds | Facebook - /FPUathletics