SAN FRANCISCO – Academy of Art men's basketball (6-18, 5-13 PacWest) made their return to San Francisco on Monday, kicking off their final home stand of the year with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against the Concordia Eagles (17-10, 13-6 PacWest). Although the Urban Knights came from behind to tie the game twice in the second half, they were unable to complete the comeback, falling in the final seconds of the 82-75 affair.
 
In the first half, the Eagles got off to a hot start, immediately jumping out to a nine-point lead after going on an 11-2 run to open the period. ART U spent the next the six minutes trimming the deficit however, eventually coming within two points after a pair of seniors put together an impressive possession: Herman Pratt IV ripped away a steal before lobbing the ball to Chris Salas whose layup in the paint did not miss on the fastbreak. Concordia took the lead once again from that point, stretching their advantage to 12 points on three different occasions including with just 1:38 remaining in the half. However, a quick 6-0 run from the Knights cut the deficit in half. The streak was highlighted by Salas who hit a jumper at the buzzer. As both sides headed to their respective locker rooms, Concordia held a mere six-point, 39-33 edge over ART U.
 
Once the whistle blew to start the second half, Academy of Art picked up right where they left off. The Urban Knights went on another 6-0 run thanks to four-consecutive points from freshman guard Dante Williams and a layup by Pratt IV. The score was tied at 39 points apiece and ART U had successfully suppressed the Eagles from scoring in the period's opening three minutes. Although Concordia would pull ahead once again, ART U never fell behind by more than three possessions (nine points) which only briefly came to pass on two occasions with 1:33 and 58 seconds to play. The Eagles were attempting to run away with the game just moments before, but junior guard Victor Nwaba proved that the Urban Knights would not go down quietly: after Concordia's Geoff Gerlach came up with a steal, he handed the ball to Tad Dafelmeier who jumped up to attempt a dunk. However, Nwaba was laying in weeds and perfectly timed an emphatic block before tumbling to the ground below.
 
ART U also put together a run with 50 seconds left, draining three triples (two from junior guard Kendall Brown) in a span of 34 seconds to come within five points with just 16 seconds to play. However, a pair of Eagle free throws put the game out of reach, resulting in an 82-75 final score in favor of the visitors from Irvine, Calif.
 
Three Knights put together double digit point totals on Monday night. Leading the way was Salas who nearly double-doubled with 15 point and 9 rebounds. The Yorba Linda, Calif. native also put together four assists and a steal. Williams scored 13 points and rebounded four shots while Pratt IV totaled 10 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Overall, ART U shot an impressive 49.2 percent (29-for-59) from the field, fueled by a .567 field goal percentage in the second half. Academy of Art also outrebounded Concordia 37-28 and tallied 19 second chance points from 15 offensive boards.
 
The Urban Knights have two more games remaining in the 2016-17 season with their second-to-last matchup coming on Thursday, February 23 at CCSF versus UH Hilo. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.