Box Score SAN FRANCISCO — 2015 started Saturday for the Academy of Art University men's basketball team the same way most of 2014 was spent – with a close game. But the Urban Knights' eighth game of the '14-'15 campaign decided by 10 points or less resulted in a 67-61 Pacific West Conference defeat at the hands of Dominican University of California at Kezar Pavilion.
It was a comeback story for the Penguins (6-7, 3-2 PacWest), who went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and grabbed three offensive rebounds in the game's final three minutes to pull away. ART U (3-8, 1-4 PacWest) led by as many as five in the second half and still led by two with 4 minutes, 38 seconds left, but would go 1-for-6 from the field the rest of the way as Dominican made its free throws in the clutch.
The game was close throughout with six lead changes and nine ties. Dominican jumped out to an early 9-1 lead in the first 1:48, but the Urban Knights quickly erased that deficit and tied the game at 13-13 with a 12-4 run that featured points from five different players.
The Penguins pushed their lead back to six at 22-16 with a 9-3 run that featured three 3-pointers from three different players, but again ART U would come back, this time taking the lead with seven straight points – again from five different players.
Nine of 10 players that entered the game for Academy of Art scored at least two points and nine grabbed at least one rebound. Senior guard
Alexis Moore led the team with 13 points and eight rebounds. Junior center
Trent Stokes was ART U's other double-digit scorer with 10 points. He also added three boards, two blocks and an assist.
The Penguins had two 20-point scorers who combined to score more than 2/3 of Dominican's points on the afternoon. Matt Hayes scored 24 points, going 5-for-10 from beyond the 3-point arc, and Dominique Taplin poured in 21 with nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.
ART U stayed close thanks to a +8 turnover differential and a 15-5 points off turnovers advantage. Dominican's performance from downtown helped it stay in touch, shooting 36.8 from deep compared to the Urban Knights' 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) performance.
Academy of Art next travels to Southern California to face PacWest opponents California Baptist on Saturday and Azusa Pacific on Jan. 12.
