FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific men's basketball team will play its final two games of the 2017-18 campaign this week. The Sunbirds head to the Bay Area to face Academy of Art and Dominican on the road in PacWest play.
 
THE SCHEDULE
Game #27
vs. Academy of Art (11-13, 10-8 PacWest)
Thursday, Feb. 22 • 7:30 p.m.
San Francisco • The Swamp (San Francisco State)
Live Stats • Video
 
Game #28
vs. Dominican (21-4, 14-3 PacWest)
Saturday, Feb. 24 • 4 p.m.
San Rafael, Calif. • Conlan Center
Live Stats • Video • Radio
 
ABOUT THE SUNBIRDS
• Fresno Pacific will look to snap an eight-game skid when the Sunbirds face Academy of Art on Thursday. FPU currently sits at 5-21 overall and 3-15 in conference play. The 'Birds most recently fell to California Baptist 82-59 last Saturday. Sam Burt led the Sunbirds with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
• FPU is currently averaging 73.1 points per night and is shooting .461 from the floor as a team, which ranks fifth in the conference. The Sunbirds also rank second in the league in assists per game (15.31).
 
FPU LEADERBOARD
• Scoring: Sam Burt 14.0 ppg
• Rebounds: Sam Burt, 7.6 rpg
• Assists: Elijah Hill, 4.2 apg
• Blocks: Sam Burt, 11
• Steals: Adrian Antunez, 38
• FG%: Sam Burt, .583
• Three-Pointers: Jake Straughan, 60
 
PACWEST HONORS
• Sam Burt | Player of the Week (12/18)
• Adrian Antunez | Five-time Freshman of the Week (11/13, 12/11, 12/20, 1/16, 1/22)
• Aamondae Coleman | Two-time Freshman of the Week (12/18, 1/9)
• Elijah Hill |Freshman of the Week (1/1)
 
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 URBAN KNIGHTS
• Academy of Art currently sits at 11-13 overall and 10-8 in conference play. The Urban Knights, who set a new program record for wins in a season, most recently defeated Notre Dame de Namur 75-44 on Saturday on the road.
• ART U sports one of the best defenses in the league, holding opponents to 70.3 points per game. The offense, however, is 12th in the conference in scoring (68.0 ppg). Kendall Brown is the only Urban Knight averaging double-digits in scoring at 16.2 points per game. He is also adding 5.3 rebounds per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• FPU holds a 5-3 all-time advantage over ART U. The Urban Knights took the last meeting 58-57 in Fresno despite Elijah Hill's 16 points, six rebounds and three assists.
 
ABOUT THE PENGUINS
• Dominican currently sits at 5-20 overall and 4-14 in league play. The Penguins, who face California Baptist on Thursday, most recently fell to Concordia 77-57 on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
• DUC is averaging 65.5 points per game and is shooting .426 as a team. Jeremiah Gray is leading the team in scoring at 18.5 points per game, which is second in the PacWest. He ranks third in the conference in threes made with 69 on the season.
 
CONFERENCE SERIES HISTORY
• The Sunbirds and Penguins will be meeting for the 12th time in PacWest play, with Dominican holding an 8-3 all-time mark. The Penguins have won the last five meetings, including an 73-66 win in Fresno this season despite 16 points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists from Adrian Antunez.
 
FOLLOW US
• Get Social: Twitter - @fpusunbirds | Instagram - @fpusunbirds | Facebook - /FPUathletics