HONOLULU – Neither team held a lead larger than a seven points throughout the battle of Academy of Art men's basketball against Hawaii Pacific, but ART U closed regulation on a 13-2 run combined with making nearly 53 percent of their shot attempts in the final 20 minutes to snatch a Pacific West Conference victory on the road over Hawaii Pacific, 74-67.

"Winning on the road is tough, and we had to grind out one tonight," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "But the great thing is we had several guys step up and make big plays down the stretch. Defensively we played our trademark pressure that forced 23 turnovers and that will carry you when shots aren't falling."

It was a slow start to the contest for both teams, with the Sharks (5-11, 0-6 PacWest) hitting the scoreboard first on a pair of free throws, while the Urban Knights' (10-5, 6-3 PacWest) counter came two and a half minutes later thanks to a layup from junior forward Latrell Williams. Again it was minutes before the next basket, with an HPU 3-pointer from Marquis Moore coming at the 14-minute mark to push the score to 5-2. 

Despite another layup from Williams, Mason Landdeck sank consecutive triples to give the Sharks their first seven-point lead with just over 12 minutes remaining in the frame. Academy of Art retaliated with a three-ball of their own from senior guard Klay Brown to jumpstart a 12-0 ART U run, which then featured another bucket from Brown and one from sophomore forward Jamal Fuller before being finished off with four points by junior forward Richard Rivers Jr. 

Five consecutive free throws for HPU at the 9:05 mark leveled the game, with the lead then fluctuating through the remainder of the first period. Just when it looked like HPU might seize the momentum before the stoppage, a timely ART U steal by graduate student guard Deang Deang in the closing seconds set up a fastbreak dunk for Fuller to leave the game at 31-30 heading into half (which ended just before the Knights connected on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer). 

Both teams turned up the offense in the second period, and while the Sharks saw 42.9 percent (15-for-35) find the bottom of the net, Academy of Art went 52.9 percent (18-for-34) from the field as they chased down Sharks throughout the majority of the action. Despite that clip, it looked as if Hawaii Pacific may be running away with the score, once again leading by seven with just over 12 minutes to play. 

It was a slow build back, but the Knights finally eliminated the deficit with a run that saw layups from Rivers Jr. and sophomore guard Rodney Munson, as well as a pair of free throws from Fuller. That, along with a pair of key blocks from Rivers Jr., tied the game for the first time in nearly eight minutes, knotting the sides at 55-55 and 7:16 remaining on the clock. However, just as ART U would draw close, Hawaii Pacific seemed to keep a handle on the game by taking a brief lead. 

A three-ball from Landdeck with just under five minutes until the horn again kept HPU on top by a four-point margin (65-61), but it was then that Academy of Art showed its second-half mettle by reeling off the 13-2 stretch to close out the ball game. It was the classic turning defense into offense, as the first four points came off a steal each by graduate student guard Stephon Hall and Deang, with Fuller and Rivers Jr. each becoming the beneficiary with a bucket at the other end.

All was nearly done with a corner three-ball from Deang and a layup from Fuller as the Knights pulled ahead by seven for the first time in the contest, though one final HPU layup kept ART U in offense mode until the final score ended at 74-67. Tonight's win marked the sixth second-half comeback for the Urban Knights, their second in the past three games, and was also the fourth straight win over the Sharks. The streak started with a victory over HPU in the final of the two meetings in 2019-20, and included a sweep in last season's meetings.

In terms of the conference standings, Academy of Art has now been victorious in four straight PacWest contests which has helped them climb the PacWest table into fourth place, their highest ranking since before conference play began. This is the third instance in the past two seasons that ART U has won four consecutive PacWest games, doing so twice last campaign including winning five straight from Feb. 5 to Feb. 17. 

Helping the Knights overcome the battle on the road by leading the team in scoring was Rivers Jr., as his 19 points on 9-for-12 (75.0 percent) were a new season-high which he paired with six rebounds and three blocks. Showing his all-around game was graduate student guard Will Balata, snatching a team-best seven boards and three steals to go with 10 points. Williams was up to his two-way game with 11 points and six rebounds, while Fuller closed out with 14 points and four rebounds. Brown was tops on the squad in assists with four in addition to nine points and six boards. 

Hard work continues for Academy of Art, as the second game of the road trip comes on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. HT with the Urban Knights set to battle Chaminade in the second of their two meetings this season after the Knights claimed the win in the first.