Game #24
ART U Urban Knights (16-7, 11-4 PacWest) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (15-9, 9-6 PacWest)
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024 at 3:30 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Laney College Gym
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #25
ART U Urban Knights (16-7, 11-4 PacWest) vs. Dominican Penguins (9-14 overall, 6-9 PacWest)
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Laney College Gym
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #26
ART U Urban Knights (16-7, 11-4 PacWest) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (6-16, 4-10 PacWest)
Saturday, Feb. 24, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Fresno, Calif. – Special Events Center
Live Stats | Live Video

THE PENULTIMATE STRETCH
Academy of Art looks to keep the momentum going as the Urban Knights get set to host a two-game homestand where they'll battle UH Hilo and Dominican before traveling down the valley to visit Fresno Pacific.

TIP-OFF
This Saturday's faceoff with the Vulcans will commence at 3:30 p.m. and Thursday's tip time with the Penguins is set for 7:30 p.m. Down in Fresno, the Knights will take on the Sunbirds next Saturday, starting 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.

On Feb. 17, ART U men's basketball will offer their Athletes Backing Athletes game, with student-athletes from other on-campus teams coming out to support their fellow Urban Knights. A Fan Bus will depart 620 Sutter at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

KNIGHT WATCH
In the recent win against UC Santa Cruz on Feb. 13, junior forward Quintin Metcalf had a milestone game, scoring the most points in his collegiate career (31) on 13-for-19 shooting from the floor, the second-most baskets scored in a single game in ART U program history with nine of those buckets coming in the second half alone. UCSC could not find an answer to stop Metcalf in the closing frame, and the Knights would go on to comeback and take the win against the Banana Slugs 76-65. 

In the Knights' most recent homestand, the squad hosted Westmont on Feb. 8 and Fresno Pacific on Feb. 10, with three overtime periods combined between the two contests. Senior forward Latrell Williams recorded two double-doubles in the games as he averaged 14.6 points and 12.0 rebounds a contest while he shot 7-for-11 from the field (63.6 percent) in the win against FPU, while he averaged 38.5 minutes over the two-game stretch.

As a team, ART U still holds the top offense in the Pacific West Conference (first place) while they score 81.4 points per game. Junior forward Jamal Fuller leads the pack in points per game average (18.2), putting himself in second place overall in the conference. Latrell Williams also ranks near the top of a statistical ranking (second place), as the Gary, Ind. native collects 9.0 rebounds per game. Other key contributions towards the team's success is junior forward Isaiah Williams' fifth-place ranking in the conference in blocks, with four Knights ranking in the top 10 in steals, with Latrell Williams in fourth, Isaiah Williams in third, junior guard Rodney Munson in seventh, and junior guard Treylon Payne in ninth. The squad still ranks near the top of the rankings in steals per game in the country, with a 10.7 per contest average (eighth place).

VALIANT VULCANS
ART U's first contest of the homestand will be a duel back to conference play, as the fourth-place Vulcans will visit the Knights. UH Hilo has gone on a tear in recent events, winning their last three contests against Chaminade, Biola, and Concordia to improve to a 15-9 overall record while being now 9-6 in conference. While being in the middle of the pack in terms of offense in the PacWest (sixth place), the Vulcans lead the conference in defense, giving up just 67.0 points per game as a unit. With Carlos Ramsey Jr. leading the team in scoring and ranking fifth in the conference (16.7 ppg), Kalique Mitchell follows right behind as the team's other main source of offense (14.4 ppg), while he also co-leads the team in rebounds with Nadjrick Peat (7.7 apiece). As the Knights are currently on a four-game win streak against the Vulcans, ART U leads the all-time series 13-9.

PURSUING PENGUINS
Looking to sneak into a playoff spot as the team is headed towards its final stretch of contests, the Penguins currently sit in eighth-place in the conference with their 6-9 record while going 9-14 overall. Dominican has also found recent success, as they've won their last three contests over Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific, and took a win from Westmont in a 94-92 nailbiter. The Penguins have struggled all season in terms of finding their way near the top of the rankings for the standings, as well as total offense and defense. Near the end of the regular season, Dominican holds the third-worst offense in the PacWest and fourth-worst defense. There is a clear core four on Dominican on the offensive end, as Marcus McCutchen leads the team in points per game (13.9) with Dale Currie (13.7), PJ Volz (10.2), and Brendon Johnson (10.0) all right there with him. After an eventful double-overtime thriller at Dominican earlier this season on Jan. 20 where the Knights came out victorious, the Penguins still lead the all-time series 20-13.

SOARING SUNBIRDS
Fresno Pacific will play three games before meeting up with ART U once again, as the Sunbirds haven't yet played a contest since their Feb. 10 outing against the Knights where they lost in overtime with an 88-82 final score. A 4-0 stretch in January for the Sunbirds is the biggest event for the squad in their 2023-24 campaign, taking a win against each of PLNU, APU, CUI, and Westmont before losing four of their last five most recent matches. Ranked at the bottom of the PacWest in offense is the Sunbirds, scoring just 61.9 points per game while allowing 68.1 a game on defense. Isaac Peralta is the leading scorer for the squad, scoring 12.7 a game with Harrison Pennisi also in the double-digits (10.4). Although ART U currently holds a five-game win streak over FPU, the Sunbirds lead the all-time series 14-10.

METCALF LEADS KNIGHTS WITH CAREER-HIGH, DROPS UCSC 76-65
Last Tuesday night on Feb. 13 showed glimpses of history from multiple Urban Knights, as Academy of Art men's basketball comeback to take the victory from the Banana Slugs in non-conference action behind nearly 52 percent shooting from the field in the second half in a 76-65 win for ART U over NCAA Division III opponent UC Santa Cruz.

LOOKING AHEAD
Another two-game homestand will commence for the Knights to close off the regular season as the squad will get set to host Biola on Feb. 29 at Laney College Gym and Point Loma on Mar. 2 at SF State - Main Gymnasium for the team's Senior Day.