GAME #23
ART U Urban Knights (5-17, 2-10 PWC) vs. CUH Silverswords (14-7, 7-2 PWC)
Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 at 7:30 PM
San Francisco, CA - Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats
Live Audio
GAME #24
ART U Urban Knights (5-17, 2-10 PWC) vs. BYUH Seasiders (12-6, 7-2 PWC)
Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 at 2:00 PM
San Francisco, CA - Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats
Live Audio
Game Notes
ART U RETURNS HOME TO FACE HAWAII SCHOOLS
Back in the Bay Area for its final four games of the 2010-11 season, the Academy of Art University men's basketball team will begin by playing Chaminade and BYU-Hawaii inside the confines of Kezar Pavilion this week.
OPENING TIP
The Urban Knights and Silverswords square off this Thursday, Feb. 17 with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 PM following the women's game. Then, on Saturday, Feb. 19, ART U and BYU-H will have a 2:00 PM afternoon contest on Family Day. Both games are scheduled to be played in Kezar Pavilion. All home games will carry Live Stats, Live Audio, and live score updates will also appear on the Academy of Art University Athletics Twitter.
KNIGHT WATCH
With four ART U players in the PacWest's Top 13 in blocks per game, Academy of Art now leads the conference in that category. In addition to the offensive production from a tandem of forwards, William Overton, Jr. and junior Keith Davis, who together average 33.7 points per game, the Knights have hung their hat on defense this year. Freshman center Noah Koné-Nelson leads the team with 1.1 blocks per contest while junior center Hunter Hayden, Overton, Jr., and senior forward Jonathan Burnett have combined to amass 46 additional blocks thus far.
SCOUTING THE SILVERSWORDS
Ranked #8 in the NCAA Division II West Region as of last week's poll, Chaminade has offered a strong 5-2 record since barely defeating Academy of Art back on Jan. 8 in Honolulu, HI. The Silverswords have been away from home for much of that time with losses coming to Grand Canyon and Dixie State at the end of January. Currently in a four-way tie for first place in the PacWest standings, Chaminade is one of the top rebounding teams in the conference and is tied with ART U for first in blocks per game. Led defensively by center Mamadou Diarra, the PacWest's second best rebounder (10.1 rebounds per game) and top shot-blocker (3.2 blocks per contest), the Swords also have the conference's fifth highest scorer in Steve Bennett (15.2 points per game). Chaminade is scheduled to face Notre Dame de Namur (Feb. 15) before the Knights this Thursday.
SCOUTING THE SEASIDERS
Like Chaminade, BYU-Hawaii has just two conference losses this season and was ranked #7 in the NCAA Division II West Region Poll last week. Upon their victory over the Knights on Jan. 10, the Seasiders won in double overtime against Hawaii Pacific, but later sustained losses at Grand Canyon and to Chaminade on a recent homestand. With the PacWest's leading scorer, guard Tsung-Hsien “Jet” Chang, currently averaging 19.8 points per game for BYU-H, the Seasiders offer one of the top offenses in the conference. As of last week, guard Marques Whippy was also leading all NCAA II players in rebounding (12.4 rebounds per game) and has since had a 21-rebound night. The Seasiders are scheduled to play Dominican (Feb. 15) and Notre Dame de Namur (Feb. 17) prior to facing Academy of Art this Saturday.
ART U FACES TOUGH RANKED OPPONENTS ON ROADTRIP
Traveling out-of-state for rematches with Grand Canyon and Dixie State, the Urban Knights went up against two PacWest teams currently ranked in the NCAA II West Region last week.
Beginning with Grand Canyon on Feb. 10, the teams were very close early on. Sparked by three-point shots, the Antelopes put together a brief run to end the first half, but Academy of Art fought back with 10-2 burst to open the second. GCU, however, responded with another strong push and took the 76-62 win in the end despite a game-high 23 points from ART U's Davis.
The roadtrip concluded in St. George, UT where Dixie State got hot from the game's opening tip. Though the Knights had solid production from their bench (outscoring DSC 14-8 in the first half), the Red Storm used a second half surge to earn the 99-54 victory.
LOOKING AHEAD
With this week complete, just two games will remain on the Academy of Art University schedule. First, the Knights travel to Dominican on Feb. 25, and then play their Homecoming season finale against NDNU on Mar. 3.
