SAN FRANCISCO – In a Pacific West Conference rematch, Academy of Art men's basketball got Jessup back as the Urban Knights took this one against the Warriors, escaping a late push and ultimately seeing the score settle at 85-77. 

"After a 10-day lay-off, it was great to be back competing against a team with different jerseys," said Head Coach Scott Waterman. "Following our loss to Jessup last week, I felt we made some changes in our attack and defensively that helped us. However, we had some lapses down the stretch that we needed to eliminate to reach our goals. We will take the win and continue to learn as we head to Fresno for another key PacWest game Monday afternoon."

Jumping out to an early 14-6 lead to start the contest, the Knights never saw a deficit as the squad steadily maintained a low double-digit lead throughout the opening period. Although Jessup found a hot streak and managed to get back within four points with around six minutes left in the first half, the Knights quickly built their lead back up to finish the frame with a 47-36 lead.

The Knights played the second half with authority for the first 15 minutes, attempting to put Jessup away as ART U held a 19-point lead with under four minutes left. Looking for an answer, the Warriors created a 13-0 run to be down by just six in the final 45 seconds. Jessup had a look to make it a one score game, but Tamatoa Humbert's 3-pointer would be no good, and a senior forward Quintin Metcalf block would finally shut down the Warriors' comeback. ART U responded by redshirt junior guard Donovan Vickers knocking down two free throws to make it a three-score game, and the Knights would take the win with a 85-77 final.

Locking in for his best game as a member of ART U, junior forward Robbie Armbrester came out of the contest with Jessup with the team-high in scoring (25), knocking down 11-of-15 shots in his 23 minutes played. Senior forward Isaiah Williams (14), Vickers (13), junior forward Bryce Moore (13), and Metcalf (11) all joined in on scoring in the double-digits, while the latter also led the squad with a team-high nine rebounds.

ART U will next hit the road to match up with Fresno Pacific this upcoming Monday, Jan. 20 with a 3:30 p.m. tip-off at the Special Events Center.