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SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Wil Bush ignited to 23 points, including seven 3-pointers, and the Sea Lions cruised to a 76-51 win over Fresno Pacific on Moustache Day, Saturday afternoon in Golden Gym.



The senior sank seven of ten from long range and snatched four rebounds to lead the Sea Lions to their third straight Golden State Athletic Conference win. The Sea Lions have also won nine of their last eleven contests.

The victory lifted the Sea Lions to 15-6 overall, 8-4 in GSAC play and they remain just one game back in the GSAC standings. The Sunbirds fell to 12-12 overall, 3-9 GSAC.
 
The Sea Lions shot a blistering 55 percent from the field and committed just eight turnovers while smothering the visiting Sunbirds on the other end of the court. FPU shot just 40 percent from the field in front of a mustachioed Green Sea student section, and were even colder from three-point range (3-17) and free throw line (8-21). 

Sophomore Marek Klassen added 11 points and a game-high six assists. Eric Hipolito led the Sunbirds with a near double-double of 11 points and nine rebounds.
 
Much to the excitement of his moustache-wearing supporters, Bush came out sizzling, sinking his first four 3-pointers in the first half.
 
They teams played close for the first several minutes. The Sea Lions held a narrow lead, but a layup from Fresno's Jake Hager with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half set the score at 14-12, PLNU.
 
Senior Jake Johnston drove inside and found a slashing Greg Murray for a layup to ignite a huge PLNU run stretching until halftime. For the remainder of the period, the Sea Lions outscored the Sunbirds 22-9.
 
Five different Sea Lions contributed to the surge, which included six points apiece from Murray and Klassen, and the Green and Gold entered halftime up 36-21.
 
The Sea Lions continued their surge after the break, starting the frame on a 10-1 run to stretch their lead to 24. Bush opened the frame with another 3-pointer, and senior Rhett Beal scored eight straight points for the Sea Lions.
 
Then the Sunbirds finally responded with their own 9-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Zach Kaul to set the score at 46-31, PLNU, with just under 15 minutes left to play.
 
Bush answered with another 3-pointer to stop the bleeding and the Sea Lions regained control, pushing the lead to 55-32 on another 3-pointer from Bush, this one from four or five feet beyond the arch.
 
With just over six minutes to play, Beal found sophomore Anthony Ussery underneath for a thunderous two-handed slam.
 
After a FPU free throw, Klassen nailed another 3-pointer to give the Sea Lions their largest lead of the night at 67-40 with four and a half minutes remaining.
 
On Tuesday, the Sea Lions will host Hope International University in another GSAC contest. The game will tip off at 7:30 pm.