Game #11
ART U Urban Knights (7-3, 3-0 PacWest) vs. CUH Silverswords (3-6, 1-2 PacWest)
Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021 at 3:30 p.m.
San Rafael, Calif. – Conlan Center
Live Stats & Audio

DUNK THE HALLS
With the holiday break just around the corner for Academy of Art men's basketball, the Urban Knights put their program-best five-game winning streak and undefeated Pacific West Conference record on the line in the only contest of the week when they host Chaminade on Sunday. 

TIP-OFF
Sunday's clash with the Silverswords is set for a tip-off time of 3:30 p.m., but from a different venue than accustomed to at the Conlan Center in San Rafael, Calif. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram, as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps. 

KNIGHT WATCH
The Urban Knights returned home from a short two-game Southern California PacWest road trip without a loss thanks to an impressive 90-77 win over Concordia before narrowly escaping with a 76-74 victory over Point Loma, as ART U has now produced a three-game PacWest winning streak in each of the past four seasons since the 2017-18 campaign (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season). It was the first time in program history that the Knights have completed an undefeated road trip to Southern California, topping a previous road trip where ART U went 2-1 against the trio of Point Loma, California Baptist and Azusa Pacific during the 2012-13 season. For the second consecutive week and Urban Knight was named the PacWest Defender of the Week, this time by sophomore forward Latrell Williams for the first time in his career. Strong on the glass in the victories was the PacWest's leading rebounder Williams, as he snatched a total of 15 defensive rebounds (22 total), with 12 coming against the Eagles to open the week (season-high in defensive rebounds). Williams followed up graduate student guard Joshua Bagley who collected the first weekly honor of his career with the same award on Dec. 6 thanks to a career-high four steals against Dominican, and both join redshirt junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. who captured the initial award of the season on Nov. 15. It is the first time in program history that more than one Urban Knight has been named the PacWest Defender of the Week in a single season, having accrued exactly one such honor in each year starting with the 2013-14 campaign through 2017-18. 

This season, the Knights are 7-0 when scoring above 75 points and average 83.0 points per game in those contests (shooting above 40 percent in all seven games), but are 0-3 when scoring below that mark and average just 61.3 ppg (shooting below 40 percent in all three games). That split leads to an overall average of 76.5 ppg on the strength of 45.4 percent shooting from the field, placing them fourth in the conference for scoring average while ranking third in field goal percentage. Academy of Art has been riding the hot hand during the winning streak, knocking down over 50 percent of their looks for three consecutive games before dropping back around their season average at 45.2 percent against the Sea Lions. Defense has been a hallmark of the team this season with ART U often setting the tone early in the game by closing passing lanes and keeping hands active, leading the Knights to be the PacWest leaders in total steals (99), steals per game (9.90) and turnovers forced (171). Other categories in which the Knights rank inside the top-5 in the PacWest: field goal percentage defense (5th; 42.9 percent), 3-point field goal percentage (5th; 33.3 percent), free throw percentage (4th; 74.2 percent), and turnover margin (2nd; +2.20). 

Leading the five Urban Knights that are averaging double-digit scoring is graduate student guard Deang Deang with 13.4 ppg on the strength of 53.5 percent shooting, with the field goal percentage ranking third in the PacWest. Providing value with both his scoring and his work on the glass, Williams is nearly averaging a double-double this season with 12.0 ppg and 9.2 rebounds per game, having produced three on the season already. He not only leads ART U, but also the PacWest with his rebounding average and in total rebounds (92). Closing out the group is a trio of Urban Knights that are just reaching 10.0 ppg in junior guard Klay Brown (10.4 ppg), graduate student forward Adrian Byrd-Jelinek (10.3 ppg), and graduate student guard Denny Slay (10.0 ppg). Running point in the offense is Bagley, who finds himself tied for 9th in the PacWest in assists per game with 2.9. 

Appearing among the defensive leaders in the PacWest is Brown, who is tied for the conference lead in steals per game at 1.9 along with Popoola Jr., while Slay and Deang are each tied for fifth at 1.6. Brown also slots in first in total steals (19), with Slay and Deang tying for third (16) and Popoola Jr. in ninth (13). 

THE (SILVER)SWORD IN THE STONE
In the midst of a tough Northern California PacWest road trip is Chaminade, as the Silverswords are most recently coming off consecutive losses against Dominican (56-53) and Holy Names (78-60) on back-to-back days, yet still have one final game tonight against Fresno Pacific prior to meeting ART U. Despite Chaminade earning a 69-62 victory in its PacWest opener against Concordia, the Silverswords have lost six of their past seven contests, though three of those defeats have come at the hands of NCAA Division I opponents during the Maui Jim Invitational. Though CUH ranks fifth in the PacWest in scoring average defense (67.4 ppg to opponents) and third in rebounding average (39.2 rpg), they slot near the bottom of the conference in nearly every offensive category including scoring average at 58.1 ppg, field goal percentage at 36.8 percent, and scoring margin at -9.3 (all rank last in the PacWest). Tied for the team lead in scoring average are the duo of Zach McIntire and Isaac Amaral-Artharee with 10.7 ppg, while Kevin Kramer is adding 6.9 ppg in addition to his team-leading 7.8 rpg. In the all-time series between the two squads, the Silverswords hold a significant edge by a 19-3 margin. Chaminade has won each of the past two, three of the last four, and four of the last six meetings, including their last battle which occurred during the 2020 PacWest Championships on Mar. 5, 2020. 

KNIGHTS ERASE FIRST-HALF DEFICIT FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN
Though Academy of Art men's basketball and Point Loma each boasted a double-digit lead during their Pacific West Conference clash on Saturday, the contest would be decided in the closing moment when the last-second shot attempt from PLNU bounced wide, letting ART U leave with a 76-74 victory to extend their program record to five straight wins. 

LOOKING AHEAD
It will be nearly two weeks for ART U to return to the court due to the holiday break, as their next time out on the court will be the final time in the 2021 calendar year as the Urban Knights stay in San Francisco but travel to USF for an exhibition contest at 6 p.m. on Dec. 28.