Game #10
ART U Urban Knights (5-4, 1-1 PacWest) at FPU Sunbirds (3-7, 0-2 PacWest) 
Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. 
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video

PENULTIMATE CONTEST OF 2024
The Academy of Art men's basketball squad will play in their penultimate contest of the calendar year as they'll be playing host in their first matchup with Fresno Pacific for the 2024-25 season.

TIP-OFF
The home game against the Sunbirds on Friday, Dec. 13 will tip off at 7:30 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
Now standing with a 1-1 record through the opening weekend of Pacific West Conference action, Academy of Art opened up the regular season with a 79-67 win against what was an undefeated Vanguard team on Dec. 5 before dropping a close 53-58 contest with a Point Loma squad that was receiving votes for a national ranking at the time of the contest on Dec. 7. 

During the week, ART U saw multiple individual performances that stood out, highlighted by senior guard Rodney Munson averaging 23.5 points per game, which included his career-high 26 points against the Lions. Additionally, the native of New Orleans averaged 5.0 rebounds per game, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals. Munson also went 16-for-33 from the field, shooting 48.5 percent in 34.5 minutes per game. Senior forward Quintin Metcalf also stood out once again after receiving PacWest Player of the Week on Dec. 2, as he now averaged 10.5 rebounds per game last week while collecting five steals and four blocks. Just shy of averaging a double-double with 9.5 points per contest, Metcalf also played his season-high in minutes against Point Loma (32).

Other key offensive contributions to the squad thus far on the season have been senior forward Isaiah Williams averaging 15.3 points per game while redshirt junior guard Donovan Vickers holds an average of 10.9. While Munson's scoring average leads the team, he also ranks fifth in the conference while Metcalf is fourth in rebounding. Vickers also is seen across the rankings as well, as he is ninth in assists per game (3.3), sixth in assist to turnover ratio (1.9), and third in three-point field goal percentage (.469).

SUNDOWN SUNBIRDS
Fresno Pacific will enter Kezar Pavilion with a 3-7 overall record and an 0-2 record in conference. While the Sunbirds are coming off four straight losses to Biola, Westmont, UC Merced, and Cal State Dominguez Hills, they haven't been able to see themselves within 15 points of any of their most recent opponents. The 'Birds will look to Isaac Peralta (11.5 ppg) and Seth Brown (10.0) to lead their squad against the Knights as they're the only two members to average double-digit points while they additionally lack a rebounder of 4.5 per game or more. FPU has had a rough start to the season in terms of offense, as they currently rank in last place within the PacWest Conference (64.0 ppg) compared to the Knights' fourth-place ranking (78.0 ppg). Academy of Art will look to make it seven straight wins against the Sunbirds as they've won each of their last six meetings.

ART U DROPS 58-53 CONTEST AS POINT LOMA OUTLASTS KNIGHTS
In a competitive battle among the top two seeds in the Pacific West Conference Tournament last season, Academy of Art men's basketball and Point Loma went wire-to-wire on Dec. 7, but the Sea Lions snuck away in the final minutes with a 58-53 final score on Saturday afternoon inside Kezar Pavilion.

LOOKING AHEAD
With one more game before the end of the calendar year, ART U will close out 2024 with one last contest on Dec. 21 against Chaminade with a 3:30 tip-off inside Kezar Pavilion.