Box Score

A video posted by Be Artist. Be Athlete. (@artu_knights) on Nov 11, 2014 at 3:02pm PST

SAN FRANCISCO — A late second-half push Saturday by the Academy of Art University men's basketball team was not enough to overcome a big second-half deficit against visiting Western Oregon, as the Wolves held on for an 83-73 win at Kezar Pavilion.
 
Western Oregon (5-2) concluded an unbeaten five-day, three-city, two-state road trip Saturday with the win, its fourth in a row overall. The Wolves led from the start and never trailed, though the Urban Knights (2-4) got within seven points with two minutes to play.
 
WOU's Andy Avgi gave the Wolves their third 20-point lead of the game with a layup at the 8:45 mark of the second half, but that's when ART U turned it on. Over the next 4:39 the Knights would go on a 21-11 run, shooting 80 percent (8-for-10) from the field with two 3-pointers to cut a 57-37 WOU lead to a 10-point game at 68-58, forcing the Wolves to call a timeout.
 
Senior guard Alexis Moore had six points, two assists and two rebounds during the run and freshman guard Uchenna Okeneme, making his first career start, contributed four points. Their 80 percent field goal shooting during the run helped lift the Urban Knights' shooting rate for the game to 43.1 percent. They shot 36.7 percent in the first half but picked it up to a tune of 48.6 percent in the second.
 
Western Oregon had four players score in double figures, led by Julian Nichols with 26. Nichols scored half his points from the free-throw line, going 13-for-14 to lead a WOU team that went 29-for-33 for the game from the charity stripe. He also added four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Avgi had 16 points and seven boards, while Lewis Thomas also grabbed seven rebounds along with his 12 points. Marwan Sarhan scored 12 off the bench.
 
Moore led Academy of Art with 17 points, his sixth double-digit scoring performance in as many games. He added seven rebounds and seven assists, giving him three games this season with at least 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Jase Harrison had a season-high 15 points thanks to a 5-for-6 performance from beyond the 3-point arc. Okeneme matched a season high with 11 points.
 
The Urban Knights now prepare for the beginning of their Pacific West Conference season on Saturday when they travel down The Peninsula to Belmont, Calif., on to take on Notre Dame de Namur.