Game #29
#2 Seed ART U Urban Knights (20-8, 15-5 PacWest) vs. #6 Seed APU Cougars (11-16, 10-10 PacWest)
Friday, Mar. 8, 2024 at 12:30 p.m.
San Diego – Golden Gymnasium (Tickets available online here)
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #30 (If necessary)
#2 Seed ART U Urban Knights (20-8, 15-5 PacWest) vs. #1 Seed PLNU Sea Lions/#5 Seed UH Hilo Vulcans
Saturday, Mar. 9, 2024 at 2 p.m.
San Diego – Golden Gymnasium (Tickets available online here)
Live Stats | Live Video

ROAD TO SAN DIEGO
Finished with a regular season in which they tied a program record for wins in a year with 20 and were the Pacific West Conference Regular Season Champions for the first time, Academy of Art men's basketball is heading to the PacWest Tournament for its fifth straight appearance (no tournament in 2020-21). The squad is looking to live up to its billing as the No. 2 seed, as its the highest placement ever heading into the conference tournament for ART U.

TIP-OFF
Preparing for the third game of the PacWest Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, tip-off with the Azusa Pacific is set for Friday, Mar. 8 at 12:30 p.m. Should the Knights advance into the championship game, tip time would be set for 2 p.m versus the winner of No. 1 seed Point Loma and No. 5 seed UH Hilo on Saturday, Mar. 9. 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.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
This year's PacWest Championship Tournament is taking place from Golden Gymnasium on the Point Loma campus beginning on Mar. 7. Tickets are available to be purchased online and can be found here, while all games will feature live stats and video for free through Point Loma and the PacWest. Check out the Tournament Central page!

KNIGHT WATCH
Fresh out of the PacWest awards being announced yesterday, the Knights saw a plethora of success with three ART U players receiving accolades, while Head Coach Scott Waterman received Coach of the Year.

Senior forward Latrell Williams saw the most success out of anyone in the conference, as the Gary, Ind. native was named All-PacWest First Team, Defender of the Year, and Player of the Year, the first in conference history to ever do so. Latrell Williams holds the team-high in rebounds per game (9.1) while he ranks second in the PacWest, and this season became the career leader in steals (155), rebounds (737), and double-doubles (25) while bettering his single-season record in rebounds (256) from just last season. In addition, junior forward Jamal Fuller joined Williams on the All-PacWest First Team as he led not only the team, but the conference in points per game (18.0) while junior guard Rodney Munson was placed on the All-PacWest Third Team.

ART U, who ranks top 10 in NCAA Division II in both turnover margin (+6.0) and steals per game (10.6), enters the PacWest tournament with a 20-8 overall record while finishing 15-5 in conference. Multiple other key contributors added onto the Knights' success over the season, with the entire roster proving their worth and ready for when it's their time to hit the court. The squad this season is 14-3 with junior forward Quintin Metcalf in the lineup, as he holds the best plus/minus on the team (9.1) with bursts of explosiveness throughout the year such as his 31 points versus UC Santa Cruz on Feb. 13. Junior forward Isaiah Williams holds the third-highest scoring average on the team (11.6), is tied with Latrell Williams for the highest steals average (1.9), and has blocked the most shots (21) while redshirt sophomore guard Eli Taylor has been the one dishing the most assists on the team (2.8 apg), ranking him eighth in the conference. Junior guard Treylon Payne has locked offenses up left and right all year, which has earned him two Defender of the Week awards with junior guard Allen Taylor stepping up and doing a little of everything for the Knights on all ends.

CLAWING DOWN COUGARS
Most recently on Mar. 7, Azusa Pacific took down Hawaii Pacific in the first game of the PacWest Tournament in a 56-55 nailbiter that came down to the final few seconds. They now turn to the Knights to face off in the semifinals for the second straight year prior to splitting their games this season 1-1. In one of their most dominant wins of the season, ART U took down the Cougars 89-65 in a Dec. 7 game that the Knights forced APU to turn the ball over 32 times. The Knights had this victory the whole way, as they shut down the Cougars completely from beginning to end. Most recently on Feb. 1, APU responded back as they were the eventual victors with a 87-82 final. Ken West is the leading scorer for the squad (16.2 ppg) while Bryce Sloan (13.6) and George Reidy (12.3) play strong supporting roles. As a team, APU ranks seventh in both total offense (70.0 ppg) and total defense (70.5 points allowed). ART U averages 10.7 points per game more than APU with the Knights' first place ranking in the conference, while their 72.6 points allowed remain right around that of the Cougars. Despite APU being 18-3 all-time against ART U, the Knights come into this one as the higher seed.

POTENTIAL OPPONENTS
Should the Urban Knights capture a win in their first matchup of the PacWest Tournament in the semifinals, ART U will face the winner of No. 1 seed Point Loma and No. 5 seed UH Hilo. While PLNU split with ART U in both of their meetings this season, both games were close as they each had nine point or less differences, with the most recent coming down to the final shot on Mar. 2. Point Loma is 17-5 all-time against the Knights, but if a matchup between the pair were to happen, it would most likely become an instant classic. The only team the Knights may potentially face that they've gone 2-0 against this season is UH Hilo, who ART U took down at their place on Jan. 15 and most recently at home on Feb. 17 in their largest win of the campaign, ending with a 100-68 score.

ART U FINISHES SENIOR DAY AS REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS
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 their last regular season 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.

LOOKING AHEAD
Should Academy of Art advance through the PacWest Championship, next would be a spot in NCAA West Regional Quarterfinal that is set to begin on Saturday, Mar. 16. The Selection Show will take place this Sunday, Mar. 10 at 11:00 p.m. ET (8 p.m. PT).