Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Rico Del Sesto)

Las Vegas, NV - After coming out on the wrong side of a couple close games lately, the Academy of Art University used a big performance from Alexis Moore and clutch free-throws in the final couple minutes to close out the Las Vegas Challenge with a 62-58 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills. Moore had 22 points, 18 in the first half, while Rodrigo Maza came close to a double-double and had the final free-throws and rebound to secure the win. 

"The guys came up big all night," said head coach Julius Barnes. "They were focused and made key plays when they needed to. They handled adversity well, hit the offensive glass and really stuck together to earn this win. I'm very proud of the way they handled themselves tonight."

The Knights (3-7) found themselves in yet another tightly contested first half, and was a low-scoring affair for the most part, as it was only a 9-3 lead for Cal State Dominguez Hills (4-6) at the first media timeout with 15:39 left in the first half. Things heated up for both sides from there, however, as Moore got it going on the offensive end. Moore had a jumper that made it a 14-10 lead for the Toros, and then a three-pointer to make it 17-14 CSUDH with just under eight minutes to play.

A triple by Givon Crump pushed the lead back to six points with 5:55 on the clock, but then the rest of the Urban Knights found their offensive groove as well. Aaron Anderson and Alex Carmon made back to back jumpers to make it 24-22, and it was another three-pointer from Moore to give the Knights a lead at 26-25 with 2:09 on the clock. Moore would add two free-throws with a minute to go to finish the first half with 18 of the Urban Knights 28 points, and after a buzzer-beating three-pointer, it was tied heading into the locker room.

Moore, who made four from long range in the first half, started off the second half in similar fashion, and his fifth three-pointer gave the Knights a 31-28 lead. Dominguez Hills tied the game up again at 33-33, and then proceeded to take a lead as big as eight on a dunk from Darnell Martin with 9:38 to play. But that's as far as the Knights would let them get, and they started to battle back big. Maza tipped one in, followed by a three-point play by Carmon. Aaron Aikman had a layup to make it a one-point game with 7:34 to play, and it was a new ballgame.

After the Toros had a push, the Knights got another free-throw from Aikman to make it 52-50 in favor of the opposition. Then Maza found freshman Herman Pratt IV streaking down the lane and hit him for the tie, followed by a layup of his own to give ART U a 54-52 lead with 2:43 to go. Maza made a pair of free-throws to make it a four-point lead, and the Knights would have to make every shot from the charity stripe count down the stretch.

At the two-minute mark Dominguez Hills made it a one-point contest, but a frantic sequence under the bucket had Aikman tipping in another key offensive board to make it 58-55 with under 60 seconds to play. The Knights got three straight stops under the minute mark, and when Sergio Valdeolmillos came in and made both free throws awith 17 seconds to play, it looked like they had it wrapped up at 60-55. But Crump made yet another three-pointer with 11 ticks left on the clock, and the Knights had to get one more possession to lock it down.

And lock it down they did. Out of the timeout, the Knights got the ball to Maza deep in the backcourt, who was able to get a couple seconds off the clock before getting fouled. And Maza, who came into the night shooting over 78 percent from the free-throw line, completed a perfect night from the line, making his fifth and sixth free throws to make it a four-point lead and securing the victory for Academy of Art.

Moore led the way with 22 points, and Maza's 10 points and nine rebounds were right on par. Alex Carmon had eight points and nine boards on a night where ART U out-rebounded the Toros 42-31. Crump had 15 points to lead CSUDH.

"We know that we can't rely on the big men to secure rebounds all the time," said Barnes. "We stress sending five guys to the defensive glass. It was great to see that we were just as aggressive on the offensive glass. Seventeen offensive rebounds is amazing for this group."

The Urban Knights will be back in action in their final game before the new year on Saturday against California Baptist at 3:00 PM.