Box Score

Hilo, HI – The Urban Knights began Pacific West Conference play with a difficult 78-64 loss to Hawaii-Hilo Thursday night. Inside UHH Gymnasium, Academy of Art University gave a valiant effort and refused to go away as freshman forward William Overton, Jr. scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half.

ART U got on the scoreboard first by way of a jumper from Overton, Jr. after his offensive rebound kept the Knights' opening possession alive. The Vulcans then put in several mid-range jump shots to push across a 14-3 run, giving UHH its early advantage. Though Hawaii-Hilo stayed in front, Academy of Art used strong offensive rebounding efforts to keep the contest close. ART U dominated the second-chance points in the period, 12-0.

Late in the first half, it was a 6-0 run that earned Hawaii-Hilo its largest lead of the period, 32-20. However, Academy of Art University responded with an 8-0 burst of its own to stay within striking distance. Senior forward Phillip Samuel scored four consecutive points during the surge. One final bucket by Samuel, who was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field in the period, made the halftime score 36-30 in favor of UHH.

Though the Vulcans opened the second half with an 8-0 run, senior forward Jonathan Burnett managed to break the scoring streak with a three-point play. The first 3-pointer of the game was then knocked down by freshman guard Czar Robotham, sparking a 7-3 push by Academy of Art. Coming to within 11 points on multiple occasions, the Knights proceeded to cut the lead to single digits on another basket by Burnett. The 7-0 ART U burst brought the Hawaii-Hilo advantage down to seven points, 60-53, with less than eight minutes left to play.

As UHH tried to pull away late, Overton, Jr. was finding his rhythm in the second half. The freshman forward knocked down an incredible shot off the backboard to make the score 65-55 and soon got freshman center Noah Koné-Nelson involved with a layup inside. Overton, Jr. scored five more points, continuing to keep the Vulcan lead right around 10 late, but UHH managed to hold on for the 78-64 win.

A 17-point, eight rebound night was turned in by Overton, Jr. to lead the Urban Knights. The PacWest's leading scorer shot exactly 50 percent from the field (6-of-12) in the second half, resulting in his 15 points in that period alone. In addition, junior forward Keith Davis had 16 points to go with six rebounds, and Burnett came off the bench for 12 points and seven rebounds (three offensive). ART U's record moves to 3-8 overall, 0-1 in PacWest Conference play.

Forward Justin Smith, who entered the game as the second best scorer in the PacWest, finished with 14 points, but the team-high of 16 points was shared by guard Andrew Gipson and forward Zach Wilde. The Vulcans also got eight assists and seven rebounds from Gipson. With the victory, Hawaii-Hilo is now 10-3 overall, 2-0 in PacWest action.

The Urban Knights now depart Hilo, HI and travel two islands over to Honolulu, HI for a matchup with Chaminade on Jan. 8. ART U will face the Silverswords at 7:30 PM HST (9:30 PM PST) following the women's game.