Game #16
ART U Urban Knights (9-6, 5-3 PacWest) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (6-12, 3-7 PacWest)
Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 at 3:30 p.m.
Fresno, Calif. – Special Events Center
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #17
ART U Urban Knights (9-6, 5-3 PacWest) vs. Menlo Oaks (8-7, 4-5 PacWest)
Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.
Atherton, Calif. – Haynes-Prim Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Academy of Art will take on Fresno Pacific and Menlo in the first half of their four-game road trip as the squad looks to better their fourth-place spot in the Pacific West Conference rankings.

TIP-OFF
Monday's faceoff with the Sunbirds will commence at 3:30 p.m. and Saturday's tip time with the Oaks is set for 7 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
After their recent 85-77 triumph over Jessup on Jan. 18, the Urban Knights now rank second overall once again in the PacWest ranks with their 5-3 conference record. 

Continuously making strong performances are the four leading scorers for ART U this season in senior guard Rodney Munson (14.9), senior forward Isaiah Williams (14.7), senior forward Quintin Metcalf (12.5), and redshirt junior guard Donovan Vickers (10.3). With three PacWest honors among the quartet thus far, Metcalf is the main contributor with two Player of the Week awards on Dec. 2 and Dec. 23, as he also averages the third-most rebounds per game this season in the conference with 8.4 per contest. Junior forward Robbie Armbrester has also stuck out among his teammates, dropping his season-high this past Saturday afternoon, scoring 25 points on 11-for-15 shooting from the field.

As a unit, ART U has put up the best field goal percentage in the conference (.476) while also allowing the second-lowest field goal percentage among their opponents (.410). They'll look to maintain their PacWest ranking since one game could currently be the difference, as they're one of 11 teams in the conference that are no more than two games away from a .500 win percentage.

SOARING SUNBIRDS
The Sunbirds have picked it up recently after a six-game losing streak, as they've split their last six games, picking up three conference wins against Concordia, Dominican, and most recently versus Chaminade. The upcoming meeting will be the second for FPU and ART U this regular season, as the Knights took down the Sunbirds on Dec. 13 in a game that saw overtime, where ART U outscored FPU 8-0 in the extra period to take the 68-60 triumph. Isaac Peralta will be the one to look out for, as he is the only member of the squad to average double-digit points with 12.7 per game, while he additionally leads in rebounding with 4.6 per game. Bottom of the PacWest in offense, FPU will rely on their ninth-best defense to stop ART U's hot hands. Now on a seven-game win streak against the Sunbirds, ART U still sees FPU narrowly ahead all-time with a 14-12 record.

MENLO MANIA
Playing against Jessup before their contest with ART U, Menlo currently holds a four-game win streak after their most recent 67-64 takedown against Westmont on Jan. 18. Dishing the ball off to their heavy scorers, the Oaks are led by Landon Seaman, who ranks second in the PacWest in points per game with an average of 20.9 points, and Preson Le Gassick, sixth in the conference scoring 15.2 points per game. While Seaman is just one of two PacWest players to put up more than 20 points per game, he additionally ranks fourth in the conference in rebounding, collecting 7.8 per game. As a team, Menlo ranks as a middle-of-the-pack offense while their defense ranks third, giving up 69.5 points a game on average. The contest between ART U and Menlo will be the first in both school's history.

ART U BESTS JESSUP IN PACWEST CONFERENCE REMATCH, 85-77
In a Pacific West Conference rematch on Jan. 18, 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. 

LOOKING AHEAD
In their next two contests following FPU and Menlo, the Knights will head out to the islands to compete against UH Hilo on Jan. 30 at Vulcan Gymnasium and Chaminade on Feb. 1 at McCabe Gymnasium.