Men's Basketball Travels to Hawaiian Islands, Faces Trio

Game #14
ART U Urban Knights (8-5, 4-2 PacWest) at HPU Sharks (8-4, 3-1 PacWest)
Thursday, Jan. 11, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. HST (8:30 p.m. PT)
Honolulu – The Shark Tank
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #15
ART U Urban Knights (8-5, 4-2 PacWest) at CUH Silverswords (6-11, 2-7 PacWest)
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2022 at 3 p.m. HST (5 p.m. PT)
Honolulu – McCabe Gym
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #16
ART U Urban Knights (8-5, 4-2 PacWest) at UH Hilo Vulcans (10-6, 4-3 PacWest)
Monday, Jan. 15, 2022 at 7 p.m. HST (9 p.m. PT)
Hilo, Hawaii – Vulcan Gymnasium
Live Stats | Live Video

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

TIP-OFF
Thursday's tip at HPU against the Sharks is set for 6:30 p.m. HST (8:30 p.m. PT), while the middle of the trip is an afternoon matinee against the Silverswords at 3 p.m. HST (5 p.m. PT) on Saturday, before the week closes on the Monday at 7 p.m. HST (9 p.m.) against the Vulcans. 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 has gone a perfect 2-0 in their contests in the 2024 calendar year, beating Hawaii Pacific just a little over a week ago on Jan. 2 with a 65-51 final score while most recently taking a victory against Westmont at their their place on Jan. 5, finishing with a 79-69 score. In the matchup with HPU, the Knights cruised to victory as they had a big lead early, and continued their strong play throughout the beginning of the second half. In the contest against Westmont, ART U saw the opposite type of start, quickly down 15-1 in the opening minutes, but eventually climbed out of the hole and closed the game with a win after a 46-25 second half.

With the highest point total by an individual player in a game these past two conference matchups at just 14, it was a three-way tie with junior forward Jamal Fuller, junior forward Isaiah Williams, and with another Knight who played in his first matchups of the season in junior forward Quintin Metcalf. As redshirt sophomore Eli Taylor scored his second-most points this year against Westmont, senior forward Latrell Williams brought home the PacWest Defender of the Week award as he averaged 5.5 defensive rebounds (7.0 total per game), 3.0 steals, and 1.0 block during the two-game and two-win week for ART U, all while he averaged 10.5 points per game as well.

When it comes to defense as a team, ART U dominates across the board, with Isaiah Williams putting himself near the leaders in blocks per game (fifth place), four Knights rank within the top five in steals average with junior guard Rodney Munson with 1.9 per game (fifth place), Isaiah Williams at 2.1 a game (fourth place), while junior guard Treylon Payne and Latrell Williams lead the pack with 2.2 per contest (first place). While the squad overloads the conference rankings in steals, the team also stands out amongst leaders in the nation at the NCAA Division II level (sixth place). ART U can also show that their defense is not the only strong asset to their game plan, as on offense they lead the PacWest Conference in points average (81.5) with the highest margin as well (6.5).

Taylor also holds a spot within the top five in his own category in assists per game (3.3), while Fuller ranks second in points per game (18.9), and Latrell Williams ranks third in rebounds per game (7.4).

CHUMMING THE SHARK WATERS
The Sharks prepare to match up with the Knights once again as ART U sailed to victory at home just after the recent New Year on Jan. 2. The Knights took control of the contest early in the opening frame, and created a 24-point lead before halftime to assist the squad take the win with the score being finalized at 65-51. The 8-4 Sharks now look for revenge on their home court as the Knights previously contained them to their second-lowest points in a game this season after they led the conference at the time, and the Sharks' scoring average leader Melo Sanchez (15.7 ppg) brings hopes of a bounceback against the Knights after scoring just three in their last contest. Coming off a win against Dominican, HPU plans to keep the momentum rolling and stun the Knights to even up the season series. Although the Sharks lead the all-time head-to-head series 14-10, ART U contains a six-game win streak against them.

SLOWING DOWN THE 'SWORDS
Chaminade stands at 6-11 overall on the season, though they have gone 3-3 over their past six contests. The Silverswords are coming off a contest where they faced off with Azusa Pacific, a game that they let go with a 96-69 score in the Cougars' favor. ART U beat the same APU team earlier this season 89-65 and recorded their season-high in steals (23), but in the matchup with Chaminade earlier this year, saw a much closer contest with the game coming down to the final minutes where the Knights took the home victory 87-84 on Dec. 10. Jamir Thomas and Ross Reeves led the team in points in the game (18), while Kelton Samore tacked on double-digit points of his own (15). Isaac Amaral-Artharee is the current points per game leader for the 'Swords and will also look to bounce back while he seeks revenge against the Knights as ART U contained him to zero points on 0-for-5 shooting in their recent meeting. Although the Knights have won their two most recent matchups against Chaminade, the 'Swords lead the all-time series 21-7.

DORMANT VUCLAN-OES
UH Hilo now ranks in fifth place in the PacWest Conference standings, one spot below the Knights, after they have gone 1-3 in their first four matchups, with all four games finishing their point differentials of three or less. The Vulcans are coming off back-to-back close losses against Point Loma and Azusa Pacific, while they beat Concordia in their first game of the new year in a low scoring 53-51 matchup. Against now top-seeded Biola one game previously, they dropped another two-point contest. Carlos Ramsey Jr. is the leading point scorer for the Vulcans (16.9 ppg) while he ranks fourth in the PacWest Conference, while Kalique Mitchell sits right behind him on the team in points (14.8 ppg) as he leads the team in rebounding (7.8 rpg), good enough for second in the PacWest Conference. UH Hilo will host Dominican before their upcoming contest with the Knights. ART U leads the all-time series 12-9 and look to maintain their three-game win streak.

ART U STARTS ROADTRIP OFF WITH COMEBACK WIN OVER WESTMONT
A second-half explosion pushed Academy of Art men's basketball to overcome an 18-point deficit to take the win from Westmont on Jan. 5, as ART U began their Pacific West Conference roadtrip with an emphatic 79-69 victory on Friday.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Urban Knights will have five days off to rest before returning to the hardwood, as ART U will meet with Dominican for the first time this season in an away contest on Jan. 20 beginning at 3:30 p.m before taking on Concordia at home on Jan. 25 with a 7:30 p.m. tip.

Players Mentioned

#33 Jamal Fuller: F; 6' 5"; Junior

#2 Rodney Munson: G; 6' 2"; Junior

#4 Eli Taylor: G; 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore

#22 Latrell Williams: F; 6' 5"; Senior

#5 Isaiah Williams: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#3 Quintin Metcalf: F; 6' 8"; Junior

#1 Treylon Payne: G; 6' 2"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#33 Jamal Fuller
: 6' 5"; Junior
: F

#2 Rodney Munson
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G

#4 Eli Taylor
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#22 Latrell Williams
: 6' 5"; Senior
: F

#5 Isaiah Williams
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#3 Quintin Metcalf
: 6' 8"; Junior
: F

#1 Treylon Payne
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G