Box Score SAN FRANCISCO — Wednesday's men's basketball game between Academy of Art University and UC San Diego was won on two lines – the free-throw line and the 3-point line.
The Tritons scored half their points on 3-pointers and made two clutch free throws in the final 2.5 seconds, while the Urban Knights missed a potential game-tying free throw with 3.8 seconds left to fall 72-69 to UCSD at Kezar Pavilion.
UC San Diego (1-0) shot 57.1 percent (12-for-21) from beyond the arc and 51.2 percent overall from the field. The Tritons drained six treys each in the first and second half, and were led by Drew Dyer, who sank 6-of-7 3-ball attempts and finished with a game-high 25 points.
Senior guard
Alexis Moore was at the free-throw line shooting two with ART U (1-2) trailing 70-68 and under four seconds to play after penetrating the lane looking for the game-tying bucket but getting fouled. Moore had just completed a three-point play 40 seconds earlier to make it a two-point game, laying it in from the baseline and drawing the foul before hitting his free throw.
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The Urban Knights had trailed for most of the second half and hadn't been closer than two points since the 5 minutes, 25 seconds mark, when a
Yanick Kulich 3-pointer capped an ART U 7-0 run to make it 61-60. But with less than four ticks left on the clock, Moore had a chance to erase the Urban Knights' deficit for the first time since the 12:44 mark of the second half.
Moore made his first to make it 70-69. UC San Diego (1-0) then called a timeout to set up potential scenarios after Moore's second. Coming out of the break, Moore returned to the line to tie the game, but his attempt caught the back rim and bounced out, landing in UCSD's Zach McMillan's hands. That miss was the last of a 16-for-27 (59.3 percent) performance from the free-throw line for ART U.
Sophomore guard
Herman Pratt IV fouled McMillan with 2.5 seconds left to send him to the line on the other end, where he made both to give the Tritons their final three-point, 72-69 advantage. After a timeout, the Urban Knights inbounded the ball to Kulich, who passed to Moore going across the halfcourt line, but he couldn't get a shot up before the buzzer and the game ended.
In the final 5:25 after pulling within one point at 61-60, the Knights went 3-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from the free-throw line. UCSD was 2-for-3 with two 3-pointers and 5-for-8 from the charity stripe during the same time. ART U would finish the game with 49.0 percent shooting percentage, including 29.4 percent from 3-point land.
Kulich led the Urban Knights with 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting and six rebounds. Moore added 15 points, five assists, three boards and a steal. Academy of Art's turnover rate fell from 22 Saturday versus Central Washington to a season-best nine Wednesday afternoon. The team also forced 17 giveaways and scored 20 points off turnovers.
The Urban Knights next face Simon Fraser at 7 p.m. Friday at Kezar Pavilion.
