BELMONT, Calif. – Academy of Art men's basketball put its foot on the gas pedal from the opening tip with UH Hilo on Sunday and never looked back, amassing a season-best 55 rebounds and shooting over 50 percent from the floor for the sixth time this season as ART U won its fourth straight by topping the Vulcans in Pacific West Conference action, 81-48. 

"Tonight our team played a complete game," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "We were locked in from the start on the defensive end and [were] able to get stops that allowed us to push our break. Kudos to our guys because this has been a tough stretch and we responded tonight. Now we have to continue to build on this effort as we prepare for the final stretch of the season."

Much like they did against the Hawks in their previous win two days ago where they clinched their berth in the PacWest Championship Tournament, the Urban Knights (14-10, 10-6 PacWest) used a 9-0 run in the first five minutes of the contest to snatch the early momentum. There was little resistance for the ART U offense as they would proceed to knock down 62.5 percent (15-for-24) of their looks from the field in the first half, scoring seemingly at will as they would establish a 15-point lead by halftime, and were hardly tested in the second half as they ran away with the game. ART U would finish by knocking down 50.8 percent of their total looks, the first time they've done so since they beat Chaminade on Dec. 19, 2021. 

This marks the second winning streak of four or more games this season for Academy of Art, as they are now guaranteed to finish at least .500 on the season in both overall and conference record for the first time in program history. ART U has also won four of the past five over the Vulcans (12-10, 8-7 PacWest), getting revenge for the earlier defeat suffered at their hand back on Jan. 13 in Hawaii. 

It was a rough game for Hilo shooting the ball, as they made just 23.3 percent (17-for-73) of their attempts from the floor while scoring just 48 points, the lowest by an ART U opponent this season. Despite not forcing an opponent into double-digit turnovers for the first time this season, ART U came up with stops at key times, as this defensive efforts tops the previous low of 52 points allowed against Dominican on Feb. 5, and is the fewest points allowed since their 48 points surrendered to Notre Dame de Namur on Feb. 21, 2019. 

Also key in the recipe for success was ART U's domination on the boards, as they snatched over 50 rebounds for the first time and ended the game with a total of 55, the second-most in a single game in program history. 

Posting his sixth double-double of the season was sophomore forward Latrell Williams, grabbing a team-high 10 boards while pouring in 14 points to help propel the Knights to victory. Reaching double figures in back-to-back games was graduate student forward Adrian Byrd-Jelinek, as he dropped a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds, while junior forward Mike Asante nearly matched that stat line with 13 points and eight boards. Just missing out on his own double-double was graduate student guard Denny Slay, adding nine points and pulling down nine rebounds. 

In just four days the Urban Knights will return to the court, as ART U hosts Hawaii Pacific on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. for ALS Awareness Night.