Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Austin McKeon)

San Francisco, CA -- The Urban Knight men's basketball team played their first exhibition game of the 2011-2012 season on Friday night, and although they lost the game, there were a number of positives to build off of before the games start to count towards their win-loss record.

Coach Mark Sembrowich was encouraged by the performance of his team and their ability to play aggressive against a team with an extremely aggressive reputation in Cal Maritime, as the Keelhaulers rode a big 20-point game from Keven Campbell to a 66-56 win at Kezar Pavilion.

"A Bryan Rooney coached team is a well-coached team," Sembrowich said. "Those kids play hard and play well together. That's exactly why we played this game. I knew what we were getting into and we were looking forward to getting that experience. I think it really showed us some things that we can improve upon."

The Urban Knights looked a little surprised by the high-tempo play by the Keelhaulers at first, but adjusted in the second half to hang with the opposition. The Knights were down 17-16 midway through the opening half , but then CSUM went on a 10-0 run, capped off by back-to-back 3-pointers by Campbell, and Cal Maritime took a big lead into halftime, up 33-20.

But the Knights came out of the locker room on fire. Guard Ameer Shamsud-din had hit a jumper at the buzzer to finish the half, and he went into the second half on a hot streak, with back-to-back layups to bring the Knights within seven. A steal by Czar Robotham led to a monster dunk by sophomore Noah Koné-Nelson, and then a three by Shamsud-din made the score 37-31. The guard made another jumper to bring ART U within two, and then Mike Jorritsma made a jumper to tie the game at 41-41.

That's when the Keelhaulers took control again. Out of the timeout, Cal Maritime went on a 17-4 run and took a commanding lead at 58-45, and were able to run out the clock on the Knights. Keven Campbell, a senior from Stockton, had 20 points for the Keelhaulers, and lifted his team with 12 points in the first half alone. Forward Isaiah Moore added 13 points and had five steals.

"I was really pleased with how we came back out in the second half," Coach Sembrowich said. "Some of the more experienced guys like Noah, Czar, Mike and Hunter really stepped up. B.J. (Prema) played with a lot of energy tonight. (Freshman) Aaron Anderson did a fabulous job tonight. The other two young guys didn't see too much time, but they will. We're going to need them, and I expect contributions from all ten guys this year."

Shamsud-din, a junior transfer who has played at both North Idaho and Cal State Fullerton, starred for the Knights, leading ART U with 14 points, two assists, and two steals. His previous experience really showed, as he stayed on the floor virtually the whole game, totaling 36 minutes and spending time as the swing guard, the two, and at times even running the point.

"I think that he's going to continue to grow like everyone else," Sembrowich said. "I think he brings a lot of things to the table. He can handle the ball, he can shoot the ball, he can drive to the basket, he can defend, and he has enough strength and stamina to play a significant amount of minutes."

Senior forward and team captain Hunter Hayden showed why he has constantly been at the top of the PacWest rebound charts, pulling down 12 total rebounds. Hayden looked to produce more offensively, but he was in foul trouble and only played 22 minutes. His replacement, Jorritsma, brought a lot of energy off the bench, notching eight points on a night of perfect shooting, going 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line. Jorritsma actually played more minutes that Hayden (23-22) and also added four rebounds and a block down in the paint.

"Mike is really developing as a player," Sembrowich said. "He's worked hard on his body, and he has become a big strong kid. I'm happy for him, I'm impressed by his progress, and I'm excited for his future with us."

The Urban Knights will have one more exhibition game to work out the kinks before they head off to meet San Francisco State on Nov. 12 and then CCAA/PacWest tournament host Chico State the following day. Next Saturday, the Knights will host the Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz at 2:00 PM at Kezar Pavilion. The coaching staff is confident that the Knights can bounce back and that they have the tools to be ready for the regular season.

"Sometimes you try to manage the problems as best you can because you don't have the talent," Sembrowich said. "I think we have the talent to fix the things that we saw tonight. It won't happen overnight, but we have the makings of a good team, and there's a lot of things to shore up, but I think we have the talent to do it."