FRESNO, Calif.-Isaac Peralta's 30-point home debut, Grant Highstreet's double-double, and a complete domination in the paint caused the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (1-2 overall) to cruise to an 87-42 victory in their home opener Wednesday night at the Special Events Center.

The freshman Peralta dropped a 30-point performance in his home debut and stuffed the stat sheet with 5 steals and 5 rebounds while the senior Highstreet delivered a career-high 16 points and snagged 12 boards to prop up a shorter than normal rotation for Fresno Pacific.

"It was no doubt a step in the right direction," Head Coach C.J. Haydock said after the game. "We've had two really good days of practice and film after a disappointing weekend. We've been very clear with our guys that there is more in us, and they've really attacked that challenge."

Peralta started hot, kicking off FPU's scoring with three straight baskets to give the Sunbirds a 6-0 lead.

After a timeout, LaVerne fought their way to 9-8 lead before the Sunbirds' offense took over.

The Sunbirds would win every segment the rest of the way.

Kyle Monk chipped in 5 points in the immediate future to push the Sunbirds in front before another 8 points from Peralta widened the advantage to 36-21 with just under four minutes remaining in the half.

Fresno Pacific closed the half on an 11-2 run.

The 'Birds scored 32 of their 45 first half points in the paint while 15 of those came on 2^nd chances.

That trend continued into the 2^nd half when Darrin Person Jr. got going with a pair of three-point plays and a breathtaking slam on an alley-oop from Peralta.

Just minutes later, Monk added a crowd please slam, seemingly out of nowhere, putting back a runner that rolled off the rim.

The dunk pushed FPU's lead to 30 with just under 13 minutes to go.

Fresno Pacific cruised as Highstreet and Peralta finished off their career-best performances.

"We have a freshman class that we're really excited about," Haydock said. "Its deep and its talented. We've asked a lot of Isaac with a lot of minutes at point guard right now. But he's everything we thought he was. He's dynamic with the ball and it was a really good showing for him."

Aside from the senior, freshman combo, Fresno Pacific had Person Jr. and Nate Kendricks also finish in double figures.

Kendricks had 12 points on 50% shooting from the field in his first start of the season while Person Jr. added 11 points and 8 rebounds.

"You coach college basketball to coach Grant Highstreet," Haydock added. "He just works and works and works. And now we need him. He's up to that challenge and prepared for that challenge. He's just an incredible human and he's having a great time doing it, smiling ear-to-ear."

The Sunbirds dominance on the interior included a terrific night on the glass in which they snagged 49 rebounds, 17 on the offensive end, and finished plus-26 on the boards.

"We have three or four very specific cleanups with our team," Haydock said of the effort of the glass. "We've talked about being a better rebounding team on both sides of the ball. To see them execute assignments when a shot goes up is really, really big. That really carries us."

Fresno Pacific will be back at home Friday night, hosting Cal Miramar in an exhibition at 7:30 p.m. in the Special Events Center.

The Sunbirds will have one more pre-Thanksgiving contest when they travel to Cal State LA on Tuesday, November 22^nd.