SAN FRANCISCO – In what was an eventful Pacific West Conference battle that saw both teams hold the lead for long durations of time, Academy of Art men's basketball got timely baskets in the second frame, where they put away Chaminade and walked away the victors by a final of 87-84 on Sunday.
"It was great to get the win this afternoon against a very good Chaminade team," said Head Coach Scott Waterman. "Conference games are played at a higher intensity and we need to be able to bring that every night. With a big week ahead with three games, we need to sharpen up on several aspects of our play, but we will take a 2-0 start to conference with room to grow."
As the Silverswords, who are now 3-7 overall and 1-3 in conference, started off the game with an early 14-2 run, the Urban Knights, now 5-3 overall and 2-0 in conference, slowly climbed back throughout the majority of the first half. ART U immediately responded with an 11-point run of their own to pull within one, but did not gain an advantage until the four-minute mark on a 3-pointer by junior guard Rodney Munson. The Knights held the lead over the 'Swords for a short period as Chaminade quickly gained it back with around two minutes to go, but ART U finished the first half off strong with six points in the final minutes from four made free throws by junior guard Treylon Payne and junior forward Isaiah Williams, with redshirt sophomore guard Eli Taylor adding on a bucket with three second left on the last possession of the half.
The Knights reached another gear early in the second frame, as they gained as much as a 16-point lead with senior forward Latrell Williams, Isaiah Williams, and junior forward Jamal Fuller guiding the way for ART U with 22 combined points in the first 10 minutes of the period. Chaminade responded with a strong next five minutes, bringing their deficit down to just three. With buckets being answered back-and-forth on both ends of the court throughout the final minutes, the 'Swords could never break through the barrier. ART U's narrow-lead remained intact as the buzzer came with the score being finalized at 87-84.
Latrell Williams led Academy of Art in points for the second straight game (23) while he paired up his 11 rebounds to record his second double-double of the 2023 campaign. Fuller was not far behind in points (18) as he also got a double-double (10 rebounds) with the rest of the starting crew putting up double-digit points which included Isaiah Williams (14), Munson (12), and Payne (10).
Jamir Thomas and Ross Reaves of Chaminade co-led the team with 18 points apiece while Thomas also put up nine rebounds compared to Reaves' four steals. While the squad shot just above 31 percent from the field, they knocked down their free throws when it mattered as they finished 11-for-12 from the line.
ART U men's basketball will host their last game of the homestand and last non-conference contest of the calendar year with Western Oregon visiting Laney College Gym in Oakland this Wednesday, Dec. 13 with a 7 p.m. tip.
