Box Score

San Francisco, Calif. (1/3/09) -- A little over 24 hours after its win against American Sports University, the Academy of Art University men's basketball team defeated Holy Names University 87-85 at Kezar Pavilion on Saturday night. Sophomore guard Phillip Samuel had the best game of his career as an Urban Knight, finishing with 30 points (11-of-14 from the field) and netting two clutch free throws to seal the victory in the final six seconds. Freshman forward Josiah Jungsten also finished with a career-high 20 points while sophomore point guard Weleh Dennis dished out 12 assists, the most for him this season, scored 10 points and was just two rebounds shy of a triple-double.

Five of the six AAU players who entered the game reached double figures in scoring with junior guard J.R. Cassita adding 13 points (2-of-4 from three-point range) and freshman forward Hunter Hayden chipping in 10 points and grabbing seven rebounds. With all the scoring, it was no wonder the Knights shot 60% (33-of-55) from the field in the contest along with 45.5% (5-of-11) from long range.

Academy of Art University began the game by making four straight shots which included a trey by Jungsten and led to a 9-2 advantage with 17:31 on the clock. Although a short burst by the Hawks tied the game at nine, Jungsten would soon nail another long ball as part of a 9-0 surge by the Knights. HNU's Zac Sewitzky and Obie Woods were on fire from beyond the arc as well because at one point in the first half, that pair combined for three 3-pointers in a span of two minutes.

As AAU came back down to earth from its superhuman start, it was a layup by Benjamin Clyde of Holy Names that tied the contest, 33-33, with 4:17 remaining in the period. The Urban Knights would not relinquish the lead, however, because the home team finished the half on a 16-9 run in which Cassita drained a trey and three consecutive made jumpers by Academy of Art University concluded the first 20 minutes of regulation with the score 46-39.

The hot shooting continued into the second period as the Knights used a 17-7 burst to open up a 17-point lead with 15:12 left in the contest. HNU continued to make threes and eventually came to within six points, 71-65, at the 9:03 minute mark. Jungsten and Cassita grew the advantage back up to 12 points on two separate occasions in the next five minutes, but after three 3-pointers by the Hawks composed a 11-0 run, the fans knew this game was going to come down to the wire.

On the next Urban Knights possession, Dennis found Samuel who buried a jumper with 39 seconds remaining. The Hawks came down and quickly attempted another 3-pointer, but it bounced off the iron and AAU fingertips out-of-bounds to give Holy Names University a second opportunity. They took a timeout and then Aaron Kanno sank his third long-range shot of the night to tie the game at 85-85. Fourteen seconds later, Samuel was able to draw a critical foul and headed to the free throw line where he calmly made two shots to give Academy of Art University an 87-85 margin with six seconds left. Timeout was called and everyone at Kezar Pavilion held their breath as Robert Christensen launched a 3-pointer with one second left that missed.

Samuel, whose 30 points bested his previous career-high by 12 points, converted seven of his eight trips to the foul line and also added five rebounds. Jungsten, who has begun to reveal his 3-point game over the last several games, was 2-of-5 from distance as part of his 20 point performance. Freshman forward Lorenzo Dobson, who finished with four points, made hustle plays, pulled six rebounds and blocked two HNU shot attempts.

On the Hawks side, it was all long ball as three players scored in double figures led by Sewitzky whose five 3-pointers accounted for all of his points (15) and Woods who had 14 points (4-of-6 from beyond the arc). Jonathan Kargas added 12 points of his own and Aaron Kanno knocked down three treys for nine points on the evening.

With the victory, Academy of Art University improves to 2-15 overall on the season while Holy Names University falls to 3-13 overall.

These two teams will face each other one more time on Jan. 6 in Oakland, CA to break the tie since the season series now stands at 1-1. Tip-off for that game is set for 6:00 PM.