Saturday, December 8, 2007 - Los Angeles
Exhibition Basketball from the Galen Center

Sunbirds stun USC Trojans 65-44

Box score

Los Angeles - It was just an exhibition game so University of Southern California head coach Tim Floyd gave his starters the night off. That didn't matter a lick to Adrian Sanchez and his Sunbirds teammates.

Sanchez scored 26 points to lead the Sunbirds to an improbable 65-44 exhibition win over the Trojans tonight at the Galen Center.

Sanchez, a senior from La Grand High School by way of Fresno City College, was 10-for-12 from the field, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.

“Sanchez played incredibly well tonight,” said FPU head coach Jim Saia, “He is the type of player that can score when he gets on a roll.”

Sanchez got started early hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to give FPU an early 10-3 lead.

The Sunbirds pushed the lead to as many as 16 points (30-14) in the opening 20 minutes, but the Trojans closed with a 9-0 run to cut the gap to five (30-25) at the break.

“We were having trouble with their penetration,” said Saia. “So we switched to a 1-1-3, and it gave them some trouble."

The defensive shift paid immediate dividends on the other end of the floor as the Sunbirds went on an 8-0 run to get their lead back up to a dozen.

FPU pushed their lead to as many as 23 points (65-42) giving Saia an opportunity to clear his bench in the closing minutes.

“I'm thankful for this opportunity coach Floyd gave us,” said Saia. “We know he didn't play his top guys, which would have been hard for us to match up with. This was a great confidence boost tonight. Our hard play and determination allowed us to get better at what we do and hopefully we will carry that into GSAC play.”

The Sunbirds held the Trojans to 30 percent shooting from the field (16-50), including an ice-cold 1-of-14 from 3-point range.

Andrew David chipped in with 14 points for the Sunbirds on 7-of-14 from the field. The senior guard from Moreno Valley had a game-high five assists and did not turn the ball over.

Keith Wilkinson led the Trojans with a double-double, 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Sunbirds have 11 days off, then travel to Honolulu, Hawaii to participate in the Hoop-N-Surf Classic December 19 and 20.

Link to Photos of tonights game  (still more to come....)

Link to USC Men's Basketball

Link to Game Tracker Livestats from The Galan Center (Free) 

Link to USC vs. FPU Pay-per-view