Box Score

Las Vegas, Nev. (12/20/08) -- After a loss to Division I University of San Diego on Friday, the Academy of Art University men's basketball team was defeated by UC San Diego 40-62 in AAU's first of two games at the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament at Valley High School. Both teams shot poorly in the first half, but the Tritons (4-3) picked up their game in the second period despite 16 points and four rebounds by sophomore point guard Weleh Dennis.

Beginning the game on an 8-2 run, UCSD pulled out in front right away with a 3-pointer by Jordan Lawley. Dennis kept the Knights relatively close with a pair of free throws soon after, but the lead eventually expanded to 12 points with 10:20 left in the period. Freshman forward Lorenzo Dobson then put in a jumper, sophomore guard Phillip Samuel added a free throw and Dennis came through with a three-point play to cut the advantage to six.

However, UC San Diego was able to get to the foul line for seven made free throws before the half was concluded and AAU headed into halftime down 18-30. The 3-pointers that the Tritons had missed in the opening period began to fall early on in the second as they went on a 12-2 run and were up 20-42 with 14:02 on the clock. Turnovers (12) and a rough shooting night (25.5%) did Academy of Art University in down the stretch even though they ended the game on a 6-1 run.

Along with Dennis, Samuel had eight points and five rebounds while freshman point guard Marqus Crawford had five points and a career-high nine rebounds. Freshman forward Hunter Hayden also contributed six points, three rebounds and two blocked shots.

For the Tritons, Shane Poppen led the way with a double-double in the form of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Lawley, UCSD's leading scorer, was held to just five points on 2-of-9 shooting, but seven other players scored four or more points to provide a balanced scoring attack. UC San Diego also out-assisted the Knights 16-4 with six dishes coming at the hands of Kelvin Kim.

AAU's overall record now stands at 0-10 while the Tritons improve to 4-3.

The Urban Knights will remain in Las Vegas for their second pairing with a CCAA opponent, Cal State San Bernardino (2-4), on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM.