SAN FRANCISCO – After leading at the half and remaining competitive with Point Loma through nine lead changes down the stretch, Academy of Art men's basketball could not get over the hump in the Pacific West Conference contest despite junior forward Jamal Fuller's eight points in the final minutes on Senior Day. The contest concluded with a 60-57 final in PLNU's favor, with ART U being named PacWest Regular Season Champions while sharing the title with Point Loma.

A slow start for both teams was seen throughout the first half between ART U, finishing the regular season with a 20-8 overall record while being 15-5 in the PacWest and the No. 2 seed in the postseason conference tournament, and PLNU, also 20-8 overall and 15-5 in conference while being the No. 1 seed. The Sea Lions led the opening frame for the majority of time, maintaining a narrow lead of no more than nine, but the Urban Knights would not let up as they hung right there with them. As ART U controlled the last possession of the half, junior guard Rodney Munson found an open shot from deep on the elbow of the perimeter and got it to go, beating the buzzer to give the Knights their only lead of the half as they entered their locker room.

With the majority of lead changes coming in the front half of the second frame, the Knights and Sea Lions remained tight with no leads more than five points from either side until just over three minutes left in the game. Building their advantage to nine with less than two minutes to go, Fuller took off scoring seven straight points for Academy of Art, but multiple good free throws from PLNU were too much and the Knights were forced to throw up a desperation heave with two seconds left that did not fall as the game finished with a 60-57 score.

Fuller's team-high in points (18) led the Knights in scoring and made him the PacWest leader for the season in points per game (18.0). Junior forward Isaiah Williams put up the most points of the starters (15) while Munson added double-digits of his own (10). Along with his five steals, senior forward Latrell Williams contributed the most rebounds on the squad (8) as he improved his single-season record in boards to 256, breaking the mark he set just last year.

A core three from PLNU stepped up to be the main contributors in scoring for the Sea Lions, with Coby Barnes and Luke Smith leading the team (17 points apiece) as the pair played all 40 minutes while Zack Paulsen was right there with them (16).

ART U now enters the PacWest Championship Tournament as the No. 2 seed beginning next week at Point Loma's campus in San Diego with their semifinal matchup to be played on Mar. 8.