Game #19
ART U Urban Knights (10-8, 6-4 PacWest) at BU Eagles (13-4, 7-3 PacWest)
Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.
La Mirada, Calif. – Chase Gymnasium
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #20
ART U Urban Knights (10-8, 6-4 PacWest) at APU Cougars (8-6, 5-2 PacWest)
Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022 at 3:30 p.m.
Azusa, Calif. – Felix Event Center (no fans permitted)
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #21
ART U Urban Knights (10-8, 6-4 PacWest) vs. HNU Hawks (5-11, 3-5 PacWest)
Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022 at 7 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Tobin Gymnasium (no fans permitted)
Live Stats & Video

TURNING POINT
Academy of Art men's basketball has hit a crucial stretch of the season. While looking to turn things around after having lost three of their last four contests, ART U is set to face off against a trio Pacific West Conference foes that also reside in California as the Urban Knights sit just two victories away from tying the program record for wins. Now fifth in the conference standings, Academy of Art's trip down south begins with the PacWest's second and first place teams in Biola and Azusa Pacific, respectively, while the stretch concludes with a home battle against Bay Area rival Holy Names. 

TIP-OFF
Thursday's tip time with the Eagles is set for 7:30 p.m., while Saturday's showdown with the Cougars gets underway beginning at 3:30 p.m. Meanwhile, Tuesday's battle against the Hawks will commence at 7 p.m. 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
Offense found little room to work against Fresno Pacific in the only game last week for Academy of Art, as the Sunbirds displayed the defense that has allowed the fewest points per game in the PacWest this season. Surprisingly held without a steal in the first half, ART U picked FPU's pockets nine times in the second frame to nearly spur a comeback, but would fall just short as the Sunbirds iced the game from the free throw line. Five of those steals would belong to junior guard Klay Brown, who claimed his third consecutive PacWest Defender of the Week award on Jan. 24 with an average of 4.0 steals and 3.0 defensive rebounds when including the contest against Chaminade. Already the conference leader in steals, his 45 on the campaign are third most in a single season in program history, just one steal behind Jase Harrison (46; 2015-16) for second place, while he is on pace for a total of 77 steals by year's end. 

This season ART U is 10-4 when scoring above 75 points with an average 77.9 points per game in those contests (shot above 40 percent from the field in 11 of 14 occasions). However, ART U is 0-5 when scoring below that mark and averages just 63.8 ppg (shooting below 40 percent from the floor in all five games). That split leads to an overall average of 78.3 ppg on the strength of 43.9 percent shooting from the field, with the points per game ranking third in the conference. 

Defense has been a hallmark of ART U this season, reaching double-digit steals a total of 12 times with a season best of 20 against HPU on Jan. 15. ART U is the only team in the PacWest to average double-digit steals per game, as they are sixth in all of NCAA DII with an average of 10.89 per game. Just as impressively, ART U's total of 196 steals is not only most in the conference but fourth in the nation. Their current total has just moved into second place for the ART U program record, and the Knights are just 11 steals away from tying the all-time program record set in 2016-17. Should they keep their current pace, ART U is projected to end the year with 304 total swipes. Additionally, their 329 forced turnovers are also a conference best while slotting ninth in the nation, forcing opponents to turn the ball over an average of 18.28 times per game (eighth in NCAA DII). 

Other categories in which the Knights rank inside the top-5 in the PacWest include rebounds per game (5th; 35.7), assists per game (3rd; 13.78), field goal percentage defense (4th; 43.3 percent), free throw percentage (4th; 75.2 percent), ), and turnover margin (1st; +3.28).

When looking at stats from just ART U's nine conference contests, Academy of Art posts the second-best scoring margin at +5.7 while averaging the most points per game in the conference at 81.4, and pulls down the second most rebounds per game with an average of 38.3. They remain at the top in steals per game thanks to an average of 11.91, while also appearing in the top five in the following categories: assists per game (3rd; 14.91), opponent field goal defense (3rd; 42.4 percent), free throw percentage (3rd; 77.6 percent), turnovers forced (1st; 212), turnover margin (1st; +5.00), and blocked shots per game (5th; 2.91).

Leading the five Urban Knights that are averaging double-digit scoring is graduate student guard Deang Deang with 12.7 ppg on the strength of 50.3 percent shooting, with the field goal percentage ranking third in all of the PacWest. Providing value with both his scoring and his work on the glass, sophomore forward Latrell Williams is nearly averaging a double-double this season with 10.8 ppg and 8.2 rebounds per game, having produced five on the season already. His rebounding average is tops on the Knights while also ranking second PacWest, though he is first in the conference in total rebounds (147). The second-highest scoring average on the team is the 11.5 ppg from graduate student guard Denny Slay, while just behind him is Brown with 11.0 ppg. Rounding out the group is graduate guard Joshua Bagley with an average of 10.3 ppg, who also comes in ninth in assists per game with an average of 3.0.

Appearing among the defensive leaders in the PacWest is Brown, who leads the conference in steals per game at 2.6 and has recorded at least two steals in every game that he has recorded one. Not only are his 2.6 per game average and 45 total steals the best in the PacWest, Brown ranks 11th in the nation for steals per game while slotting in seventh for total steals. Trailing behind Brown in steals per game are teammates Deang (3rd, 1.8 spg), Slay (6th, 1.7 spg), and redshirt junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. (9th, 1.6 spg).  Meanwhile, junior forward Cheickna Sissoko is 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. 

A pair of rematches against Point Loma and Concordia brought a 1-1 week, as ART U split the season's meetings with the Sea Lions but were able to sweep the Eagles for the first time in program history, while also tying the longest winning streak by either side in the all-time series (three games). Showing up defensively was 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 became the fourth Urban Knight to earn the award this season.

Tasked with playing three games in five days on the Hawaiian Islands, the Urban Knights came back with a 1-2 record thanks an 83-70 victory over Hawaii Pacific, though it was sandwiched between a pair of defeats at the hands of UH Hilo and Chaminade. Contributions came from all around on the trip but returning home with his second consecutive PacWest Weekly award was Brown, who was tabbed as the PacWest Defender of the Week on Jan. 17 thanks to an average of 2.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 5.0 defensive rebounds per game.

BLITZING BIOLA
Ranked the No. 5 team in the west region, Biola has claimed victory in two straight and five of their last seven overall, most recently topping Hawaii Pacific 74-62 after narrowly surviving a battle with Chaminade, 75-72. Thus far into the season the Eagles average 77.9 ppg, fourth in the conference and sitting directly behind ART U, all on the strength of the best shooting percentage in the conference at 47.7 percent. On the other end, Biola allows opponents to average just 68.3 ppg, the third-lowest in the conference, helping lead the Eagles to post the best scoring margin in the PacWest at +9.7. Additionally, BU is tough on the boards and grabs a PacWest-leading 41.1 rebounds per game. Leading the three Eagles in double-digit scoring is Chris Rossow with 17.8, placing him fifth in the PacWest. Just behind him in scoring average is Alex Wright with 15.9 ppg, who is also tied for the team lead in rebounds at 6.9 rpg along with Maximo Milovich. The all-time series is close between ART U and Biola, but iti is the Eagles that hold the 3-2 edge after winning each of the past two meetings, most recently on Feb. 8, 2020. 

COUGARS WITH CLAWS
Sitting in first place in the PacWest thanks to being the only team to not lose three games in conference play is Azusa Pacific, who has won three of their past four overall with the lone loss coming to one of the tougher defensive teams in the conference in Fresno Pacific. Most recently the Cougars have handled UH Hilo by a 69-62 final before cruising past Chaminade 84-76. While APU ranks just sixth in points per game in the conference at 73.2 ppg, they come in fourth in opponents scoring average by allowing just 68.8 ppg, leading the Cougars to be fourth in scoring margin at +4.4. Two Cougars are above 14.0 ppg on the season, with Justin Hemsley leading the way at 14.3 while McKelary Robertson chips in 14.1. Adding 12.0 ppg of his own is Ken West, who also tops the team in rebounding with an average of 5.1 per game. Azusa Pacific has dominated the all-time series with Academy of Art 12-1, as the Urban Knights have not defeated the Cougars since the first ever meeting between the teams back on Feb. 4, 2013. 

OH HAWK NO
Sitting in ninth place in the standings and the first spot out of the PacWest tournament as it currently stands is Holy Names, who enter at 5-11 overall on the season and have lost four of their past six games. Other than field goal percentage (shooting 45.3 percent on the season), the Hawks rank in the bottom half of nearly all statistical categories, though they also rank fourth in turnover margin at +0.07. Doing all the scoring for Holy Names is Edward Gray, as his 18.4 ppg lead the squad and are second in the PacWest, while Babacar Thiombane pulls down the most rebounds with an average of 6.3 per game. ART U is out in front of HNU in the all-time series between the two teams 14-5, with the Urban Knights currently riding a six-game winning streak against the Hawks (longest streak by either team) that began back on Dec. 10, 2017. 

KNIGHTS COMEBACK EFFORT FALLS SHORT AGAINST SUNBIRDS
Active hands on defense spurred an Academy of Art men's basketball comeback effort against Fresno Pacific on Saturday, as nine second-half steals helped ART U briefly cut the deficit to single digits late in the contest. However, FPU iced the game at the free throw line where they scored their final 12 points, and snatched a win in Pacific West Conference action by a 74-63 final. 

LOOKING AHEAD
Another Bay Area showdown awaits the Urban Knights, as ART U looks to sweep the season series with Dominican on Feb. 5 after winning the earlier matchup between the two teams by a 91-71 final on Dec. 4, 2021.