Game #15
ART U Urban Knights (9-5, 5-1 PacWest) at UH Hilo Vulcans (8-4, 4-1 PacWest)
Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. HST
Hilo, Hawaii – Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium (fans not permitted)
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
 
Game #16
ART U Urban Knights (9-5, 5-1 PacWest) at HPU Sharks (3-8, 0-5 PacWest)
Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022 at 3 p.m. HST
Honolulu – The Shark Tank
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #17
ART U Urban Knights (9-5, 5-1 PacWest) at CUH Silverswords (5-8, 3-4 PacWest)
Monday, Jan. 17, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. HST
Honolulu – McCabe Gym
Live Stats | Live Video

RIDING THE WAVE
Having reached the midway point of the season, Academy of Art men's basketball finds itself alone at the top of the Pacific West Conference standings. As ART U prepares to continue its towards a PacWest title, the Urban Knights embark on a three-game road trip to the islands of Hawaii as they face UH Hilo, Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade. 

TIP-OFF
Thursday's tip in Hilo against the Vulcans is set for 7:30 p.m. HST (9:30 p.m. PST), while the middle of the trip is an afternoon matinee against the Sharks at 3 p.m. HST on Saturday, before the week closes on the Monday at 7:30 p.m. HST against the Silverswords.  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
Academy of Art suffered its first PacWest loss of the season in a rematch against Point Loma, a conference battle that went all the way to double overtime before the Sea Lions eventually squeaked away with the 92-85 win to split the season series. It did not take long for the Knights to rebound, as they dispatched of Concordia in convincing fashion with a 85-71 victory, sweeping Concordia for the first time in the season matchups (when playing at least two games in a season) and tying the longest winning streak by side either side in the all-time matchup (three games; CUI still leads series 6-4). Since ART U has most recently played, they were assisted by a UH Hilo victory over Biola to reclaim sole possession of first place in the conference. 

Multiple student-athletes set season-highs this week including graduate student guard Joshua Bagley dropping a career-best 20 points against the Sea Lions, while sophomore forward Cheickna Sissoko led the Knights with 21 points on 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) shooting from the floor during ART U's win against the Eagles. Showing up defensively was junior guard Klay Brown, who recorded five steals in both games while also averaging 5.5 defensive rebounds per game in being named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Jan. 10. He becomes the fourth Urban Knight to earn the award this season, joining teammates redshirt junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. (Nov. 15), Bagley (Dec. 6), and sophomore forward Latrell Williams (Dec. 13). This honor further extends the new program record number of selections in a single season, topping the previous record of one which ART U had done each year starting with the 2013-14 campaign through 2017-18. 

This season the Knights are 9-2 when scoring above 75 points with an average 84.5 points per game in those contests (shooting above 40 percent from the field in all 11 contests). However, ART U is 0-3 when scoring below that mark and averages just 61.3 ppg (shooting below 40 percent from the floor in all three games). That split leads to an overall average of 79.5 ppg on the strength of 45.8 percent shooting from the field, respectively ranking them third and fourth in the PacWest in the two categories. Defense has been a hallmark of ART U this season, reaching double-digit steals in each of the last nine games and 11 contests overall. ART U is the only team in the conference to average double-digit steals, slotting in as the PacWest leaders in total steals (145), steals per game (10.36) and turnovers forced (248). Other categories in which the Knights rank inside the top-5 in the PacWest: field goal percentage defense (5th; 43.4 percent); 3-point field goal percentage (4th; 33.9 percent), free throw percentage (3rd; 76.7 percent), and turnover margin (2nd; +2.64). When looking at stats from only conference contests, Academy of Art posts the second-best scoring margin at +10.0 (only other team to post a positive double-digit margin along with Azusa Pacific) thanks to 85.6 ppg, the highest mark in the PacWest.

Leading the five Urban Knights that are averaging double-digit scoring is graduate student guard Deang Deang with 13.8 ppg on the strength of 53.8 percent shooting, with the field goal percentage ranking second in all of the PacWest (trailing the 56.2 percent by Donald McHenry of UH Hilo). Providing value with both his scoring and his work on the glass, Williams is nearly averaging a double-double this season with 11.3 ppg and 8.5 rebounds per game, having produced four on the season already. He not only leads ART U, but also the PacWest with his rebounding average and in total rebounds (119). Matching his 11.3 ppg is graduate student guard Denny Slay, while just behind him is Brown with 11.1 ppg and Bagley with 10.0 ppg. Both Bagley and Slay are also in the top 10 for assists in the PacWest, tying for ninth with an average of 2.8 apg.

Appearing among the defensive leaders in the PacWest is Brown, who leads the conference in steals per game at 2.5 while Popoola Jr. trails closely in a tie for third with 1.8 spg, while rounding out the top 10 in a tie for 10th are Slay and Deang. Meanwhile, Sissoko is tied for 10th in blocks per game at 0.6, swatting away a season-high five would-be shot takers during the win over Chaminade, the most in a single PacWest game this season. 

KNIGHTS' QUEST
Helping the Knights start 2-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 season was the duo of Popoola Jr. and Williams as the two were named to the SF State Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team. For Popoola Jr., he averaged 15.5 points per game and was clutch at the free throw line against the Gators, becoming the fifth Urban Knight to be perfect at the line with at least 10 attempts in a single game by going 10-for-10. Williams chipped in an average of 12.5 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game over the first two contests, including a double-double in his first game as a Knights where he dropped 19 points with 11 rebounds. Popoola Jr. also collected a PacWest Defender of the Week honor on Nov. 15, the first PacWest weekly award of his career, capping off a week where he averaged 3.5 steals per game as well as 7.0 defensive rebounds (eight total). 

Also key in the 2-0 start was Deang as he chipped in 13.5 ppg in the season-opening tournament and grabbed his own double-double during the win over the Seawolves with 20 points and 10 boards, going a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. He became only the second player in program history to post a perfect shooting percentage while making at least eight buckets, joining Aaron Aikman who did so on Nov. 9, 2013.

After a three-game slide that included losses to a pair of squads that now enjoy a national ranking in No. 4 Chico State and No. 15 Cal State San Bernardino, the Knights responded with a 90-78 win over Saint Martin's before capturing a signature win in the history of the program with a 79-60 defeat of UC Davis, the first victory over a DI opponent in the regular season in program history. ART U knocked down exactly half of their looks from the floor but hit on a season-best 61.5 percent (8-for-13) of their looks from downtown, the highest 3-point percentage in a game by a PacWest member school this season. 

PacWest action for the Knights began with an all-around impressive 91-71 toppling of Dominican, the largest win over the Penguins in program history (previous: 17 points, 79-62 on Feb. 1, 2019). Academy of Art showed their defensive grit and set a pair of their season highs that night, including 14 steals and six blocks, leading Bagley to be named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Dec. 6 thanks to a career-high four steals.

Following that was the first ever undefeated road trip to Southern California in ART U history, with an impressive 90-77 victory over Concordia before narrowly escaping 76-74 over Point Loma and the return of PacWest Preseason Player of the Year Kaden Anderson. Strong on the glass in the victories was Williams as he snatched a total of 15 defensive rebounds (22 total), becoming the third Urban Knight this year to be named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Dec. 13. 

The final PacWest game of 2021 saw the Urban Knights handily take down Chaminade in a 100-77 win effort, leaving ART U as the only remaining team without a loss in conference action and moving them into sole possession of first place. Additionally, ART U produced a four-game PacWest winning streak, the longest such streak in Urban Knights history. Starting with a 29-2 run in the first frame, the Knights would go on to set the third highest point total on the most field goals made (43) in program history. While the shooting hand of the Knights would cool a bit in the second frame, they still finished at a season-best 55.8 percent shooting from the floor. It was the third time the Knights hit triple digits in school history, and the first since they tied the program record with 107 points against Simon Fraser on Nov. 21, 2014. The scoring against CUH came on a season and program best 26 assists, tying the mark that they set against Holy Names on Feb. 13, 2020. 

Matched up against their second NCAA Division I opponent of the season, this time battling San Francisco Neighbor USF, the Dons put an end to what had become the Urban Knights' six-game winning streak by giving ART U its first loss this season when reaching the 75 point mark. Leading all scorers was Deang with 21 points on 50 percent shooting (7-for-14) from the floor with a season-high four steals, while Slay chipped in 17 and totaled five assists for the second straight game. 

DORMANT VUCLAN-OES
It will be a battle of the top two teams in the PacWest when ART U clashes with UH Hilo, as the Vulcans enter at 4-1 in conference play on a four-game winning streak, including victories over Point Loma, HPU, Holy Names and most recently Biola, which allowed the Knights to step back into first place. Hilo enters as the top scoring team in the conference with an average of 81.6 ppg and a +4.8 scoring margin, second best in the PacWest, though the Vulcans do allow the second-most points per game in the conference at 76.8. Entering as the team's top scorer is Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, as his 17.3 ppg ranks fourth in the conference, while just behind him is Donald McHenry in sixth with an average of 16.7 ppg. Tait-Jones also enters as the top rebounder, as he's nipping at the heels of ART U's Williams for the conference lead in rebounds with 8.4, while Darren Williams chips in an average of 5.1 assists per game, the best mark in the PacWest. ART U holds a three-game winning streak over UH Hilo, with two of those wins coming on Vulcans home floor while the last came on Feb. 15, 2020, leading to the Knights holding a 9-8 edge in the all-time series. 

CHUMMING THE SHARK WATERS
After a three-game winning streak earlier on in the season, Hawaii Pacific has lost nine consecutive contests including a most recent 90-82 loss to Biola at the Shark Tank, which also came after a close 68-66 loss to HNU. Though the record might not show it, the Sharks slot in the middle in most statistical categories in the conference, including ranking third in rebounds per game with an average of 38.3. The only Shark averaging double digits is Rodney Hounshell with his 15.7 ppg, tying him for seventh in the conference, while Trey Miller enters as the top rebounder with an average of 5.6 per game. Leading the all-time series between the Sharks and the Knights is HPU by a 14-5 margin, though it was ART U that came away with the most recent win, a 74-59 effort in Honolulu on Jan. 29, 2020. 

SLOWING DOWN THE 'SWORDS
Chaminade stands at 5-8 overall on the season, though they have gone 3-3 over their past six contests with a recent 77-76 overtime win over Holy Names before stumbling 77-68 against Biola. Scoring is an area that the Silverswords struggle in as their average of 63.2 point per game rank last in the PacWest, while they also fall at or near the bottom of most statistical categories except for rebounding (2nd, 39.2 rpg). Isaac Amral-Artharee stands as the top scorer on Chaminade with an average of 12.7 ppg, while Kevin Kremer's 7.8 rebounds per game are not only the best on the team, but third best in the PacWest. Though the Silverswords hold the edge over the Knights in the all-time series 19-4, ART U holds the most recent win after the Knights hit the 100-point mark for only the third time in program-history when they topped CUH 100-77 back on Dec. 19, 2021. 

ART U SETS TONE EARLY, SWEEPS SEASON SERIES WITH EAGLES
Never trailing in a rematch with Concordia in Pacific West Conference action, Academy of Art men's basketball raced out to large lead within minutes of the tip as ART U returned to both the win column and a tie for first place in the conference standings with a 85-71 defeat of CUI. 

LOOKING AHEAD
The Urban Knights will have five days off to rest before returning to the hardwood, as ART U will meet with Fresno Pacific for the first time this season on the Knights' home court on Jan. 22 beginning at 3:30 p.m.