OAKLAND, Calif. – The Fresno Pacific University men's basketball team played their most complete game of the season against San Francisco State Saturday evening. The Sunbirds walloped the Gators 86-63 and matched the best start to a season since the 2009-10 campaign. 
 
QUOTABLE
"Most proud I've been of my team all year. 13 guys with solid contributions, lots of bench guys play huge minutes and are aggressive and disciplined. D.J. Searcy, Marten Maide, and Jamal Briscoe particularly were assertive to the rim and competed defensively. It's a good win for us, but we are focused on continuing to compete at this level as we enter PacWest play. We have an urgency to get better every day, and that's going to get our complete and total focus." head coach C.J. Haydock.
   
 HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nate Kendricks knocked down a three-pointer to put the Sunbirds up 12-6 over the Gators after 5:28 of play. 
• A layup from SFSU's Eche Okeke brought the Gators to within three with 6:26 left in the first half.
• From there, the Birds would close out the half on a 16-3 run that featured a dunk from Searcy and was capped by a three-pointer from Maide. 
• The Sunbirds ripped off a 9-3 run early in the second half that put them up by 24 points with 12:27 to play.
• Briscoe finished a tough layup through contact. He'd convert the and one to put the team up 74-47 with 6:14 to go.
• Searcy gave the Sunbirds their largest lead of the game when he knocked down a jumper through contact. He'd convert the and one to put the team up by 29 points with 1:49 left.
• The Sunbirds sealed the game 86-63.

STATS FROM THE GAME

• Jelani Watson-Gayle led everyone with 17 points while going 3-for-5 from three-point range. 
• Kendricks went 6-for-10 from the field on his way to scoring 15 points with three rebounds and five assists.
• The FPU bench scored 32 points and was led by Searcy who poured in 10 points and led the team with seven rebounds. 
• A.J. Kirby was a consistent presence, dishing out a team-high six assists while adding six points and three rebounds. 
• The Birds shot 52.5 percent from the field (31-for-59) for the game and knocked down 60.7 percent of their shots in the second half.
• The Blue and Orange forced 17 turnovers and scored 23 points off turnovers in the game. 
• The FPU defense held SFSU to a 34.8 field goal percentage (23-for-66) for the contest. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Sunbirds have secured their best start to a season since becoming a member of the NCAA in 2014. 
• The Birds have matched the start from the 2009-10 team who went 25-9 and competed in the NAIA National Tournament before falling 88-82 to John Brown in the second round.
• The Blue and Orange have a chance to match a program-best 7-0 start from the 2007-08 team.

UP NEXT

• The Sunbirds open PacWest Conference play this Thursday against Biola at 7:30 p.m. in Mirada, Calif. 

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