GAME #21
Fresno Pacific (7-15, 3-11 PacWest) at Academy of Art (5-15, 3-11 PacWest)
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015 – 7:30 p.m. PST
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
LIVE VIDEO/STATS | LIVE AUDIO
 
GAME #22
Academy of Art (5-15, 3-11 PacWest) at Dominican (9-13, 6-8 PacWest)
Monday, Feb. 16, 2015 – 7:30 p.m. PST
San Rafael, Calif. – Conlan Center
LIVE VIDEO/STATS | LIVE AUDIO
 
SAN FRANCISCO — A stretch of four Pacific West Conference games versus Northern California opponents continues this week and into next for the Academy of Art University men's basketball team after starting the run Saturday with a win over Holy Names across The Bay.
 
The Urban Knights (5-15, 3-11 PacWest) will split two games home and away, first hosting Fresno Pacific (7-15, 3-11 PacWest) Wednesday, then traveling north for a rematch at Dominican University of California (9-13, 6-8 PacWest) on Monday. Both games tip off at 7:30 p.m.
 
ART U snapped a four-game losing streak with a 79-71 win at Holy Names Saturday. Five players scored in double figures and the Urban Knights tied a season high with nine 3-pointers.
 
ABOUT FRESNO PACIFIC
The Sunbirds (7-15, 3-11 PacWest) have lost back-to-back road games after handing Dominican a 10-point, 87-77 defeat at home on Wednesday. FPU is 1-8 on the road this season with a current eight-game losing streak. Its lone win came against NAIA member UC Merced on Nov. 18.
 
Fresno Pacific handles the ball well, ranking second in the PacWest with a +1.23 assist/turnover ratio. That number is powered by a conference second-best 15.8 assists per game. Madison Higgins leads the way for FPU with 3.6 apg, while three other Sunbirds rank among the conference's top-25 for assists. Higgins is also second on the team with 13.2 points per game. Trevon Clayton is the conference's best rebounder at 10.2 rebounds per game.
 
All-time Series: Fresno Pacific leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Feb. 17, 2014, Fresno Pacific won 83-77 in Fresno, Calif.
 
ABOUT DOMINICAN
The Penguins (9-13, 6-8 PacWest) are still fighting for a spot in the PacWest Conference Tournament next month, sitting 1 1/2 games out of the sixth and final slot. They will play two more games before facing ART U, heading to Notre Dame de Namur Tuesday, then hosting Holy Names Saturday before clashing with the Urban Knights on Monday.
 
Dominican edged Academy of Art 67-61 on Jan. 3 in a comeback win. Current leading scorer Dominique Taplin (16.2 ppg) had 21 points and nine rebounds in that game. The Penguins have the third-best team shooting percentage in the conference at 48.0 percent. Matt Hayes, who hit five 3-pointers versus the Knights earlier this season, is ranked seventh in the conference with a 39.9 3-point field goal percentage.
 
All-time Series: Dominican leads 11-0
Last Meeting: Jan. 3, 2015, Dominican won 67-61 in San Francisco.
 
CLOSE IS GOOD
The Urban Knights have won their last two games decided by 10 points or less after losing three such games in a row and seven on the year. ART U is now 4-7 this season in close games, including a 70-67 road win over then-No. 22 Seattle Pacific to start the year on Nov. 14 and a buzzer-beating 76-73 win over Chaminade on Jan. 19 to beat the Silverswords for the first time in program history.
 
LOOKING FOR FIRSTS
Academy of Art will attempt to earn its first victories in program history this week over both Fresno Pacific and Dominican. It was close in the team's last matchups against both teams. The Sunbirds edged the Urban Knights by six points last season in Fresno, and Dominican had to come from behind to win by six earlier this season at Kezar Pavilion.