GAME #21
ART U (3-16, 1-8 PWC) vs. Notre Dame de Namur (7-9, 3-5 PWC)
February 2, 2012 at 7:30 PM 
Belmont, CA -- Walter Gleason Gym
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TIPPING OFF
Academy of Art continued to put the ball in the bucket, scoring 159 points in only two games last week against BYU-Hawaii and Chaminade, but couldn't stop big performances from PacWest leading scorer Jet Chang of the Seasiders (24 points) and surprise hero for the Silverswords Benny Murray (34 points), going 0-2 to open up the homestand. The Knights did have key contributions from Ameer Shamsud-din against BYUH (26 points) and Czar Robotham against Chaminade (27 points).

CAN'T STOP THE RAIN
The Urban Knights are fourth in the PacWest in scoring during conference play, averaging 71.0 points per contest within the PacWest and 67.1 points per game overall in 2011-12, which has surpassed last year's average of 66.6 points per game. ART U has 17 games with 60+ points, ten games with 70+, four games with 80+, and one game with over 90 points this season. They also have three players averaging at least 11.9 points per game, with Ameer Shamsud-din (16.0) and William Overton, Jr. (15.3) ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the PacWest.

PENGUINS GONE COLD
The Dominican Penguins started off the PacWest schedule beating two conference opponents to briefly sit atop the standings, but have since lost five straight. The Urban Knights will have to keep an eye on Jacob Noisat, who has led the Penguins eight times this year, including the last two games. Noisat is averaging 11.1 points per game, and is also leading Dominican in rebounding, bringing down 6.6 boards per contest. The Knights will also be on the lookout for guard Xander McNally, who is averaging 3.9 assists and 3.5 steals per game.

WAY OF THE FUTURE
Academy of Art has received a tremendous amount of production from a core of players that are all under the age of 20. Three of the top five scorers are sophomores (Overton, Robotham, Noah Koné-Nelson), and freshmen Aaron Anderson and Myles Babitt have been key contributors off the bench. "We've played young guys and they have really developed and continued to improve at the college level," said head coach Mark Sembrowich, "We're looking forward to what the future holds, as we've already seen them grow together this year."

NDNU: WE KNOW DRAMA
The Argonauts have played in eight games this season that have been decided by five points or less, including their last two: a 71-70 win over BYU Hawaii and a 69-66 victory against Chaminade last week. It was a bizarre finish in the game against the Seasiders, where the final score was determined with 1:20 left on the clock, as Arron Mollet sunk two free throws before there were six missed field goals in the final moments to close it out for NDNU. Against the Swords, Tyler Fricke put up a season-high 26 points for the Argos.

URBAN KNIGHTS MILESTONE WATCH
Senior Hunter Hayden is still very much within reach of becoming the only 600-600 player in ART U history, sitting at 573 points and 565 rebounds for his career. Ivan "B.J." Prema, Jr. is one 3-pointer away from tying the Urban Knights record of 63 set by Weleh Dennis after hitting one in each of the past three games. Shamsud-din is close to the ART U season records of 45 3-pointers made (he has 38) and 434 points (he has 304), and Robotham (78 ast) also has a shot at the single-season assists record of 93 set by Lance Olivier.

WHAT'S ON TAP
The Urban Knights will stay in the Bay Area, playing Dominican in San Rafael on February 7th, and then head off on a road trip to Utah to take on the Lopes (Feb. 11th) and Arizona to face Grand Canyon (Feb. 13th) before the final homestand of the season.