Box Score

San Francisco, Calif. -- The Academy of Art University men's basketball team began its 2009-2010 season with a 66-58 victory over Pacific Union College in an exhibition game at Kezar Pavilion on Sunday afternoon. Four Urban Knights scored in double figures led by freshman guard Jordan Knox and junior guard Phillip Samuel who each had 12 points apiece. Junior forward Jonathan Burnett and junior guard Lance Olivier each added 10 points.

The teams stayed close to one another in the first half with AAU taking a five-point lead on two occasions, but PUC came back both times. Knox paved the way for the Knights with his eight trips to the free throw line and 10 points in the half. The scoreboard showed its fourth tie of the period, 28-28, with less than a minute remaining and the Pioneers managed one more pair of free throws to give them a 30-28 advantage heading into halftime.

The Urban Knights' defense came alive in the second period as Academy of Art had nine steals while forcing 14 Pacific Union turnovers in the half. In the first five minutes of the period, AAU surged ahead with a 10-2 run that included a four-point play by Samuel and four points from Burnett. The Knights later pushed the advantage to 12 points and would not relent for the rest of the game.

Academy of Art University had an all-around team performance offensively as well as defensively. Behind the aforementioned scoring punch, freshman forward Aaron Aikman contributed nine points and three rebounds. Senior guard Weleh Dennis filled up the stat sheet with five points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Defensively, junior guard Devin Williams tallied four steals and sophomore forward Hunter Hayden blocked three Pioneer shots.

Pacific Union was led by a double-double from forward Kenny Penn who posted 10 points and 13 rebounds. Guard Aren Rennacker, who scored 11 points, was the only other Pioneer to score in double-figures and added seven rebounds. As a team, PUC outrebounded AAU 48-34, but Academy of Art got 21 points off 23 Pioneer turnovers for the difference in the game.

The Urban Knights will officially begin their season on the road with a game against Cal State Monterey Bay. Tipoff for that game is set for 2:00 PM on Nov. 15 at the Otter Sports Complex in Seaside, CA.