SAN DIEGO – The Urban Knights made multiple runs at the Point Loma Sea Lions, but were unable to take the lead once and for all in Monday's 78-70 defeat.
 
In the first half, ART U stayed with PLNU throughout the entire period. The Knights never trailed by more than nine points and came from behind to tie the contest on four separate occasions.
 
At the end of the half, the Sea Lions held a slim, 37-30 lead that the Urban Knights would attempt to chip away at in the second.
 
When the buzzer sounded and the halftime festivities were over, ART U came out of the gate with a 6-0 run highlighted by sophomore guard Uchenna Okeneme's four points. Their run put the Knights within one point of the Sea Lions and gave them an opportunity to pull ahead for the first time in the contest. ART U was unable to break the barrier however and continued to trail for the remainder of the game.
 
Despite the loss, Academy of Art dominated the stat sheet in several categories. For example, the Urban Knights capitalized on 17 turnovers, scoring 21 points a result. ART U also had 32 points scored by the bench compared to Point Loma's 12. The Knights also posted more steals (10), assists (17), and offensive rebounds (11) than the Sea Lions.
 
There were also four ART U players to reach double digit point totals. Junior guard Chris Salas led the team with 17 points while adding four rebounds and five assists. Sophomore guard Jase Harrison posted 12 points along with four rebounds and five steals. Senior guard Nick Cary also reached the 10-point threshold, scoring 11 points while contributing six rebounds and two assists. Lastly, sophomore Uchenna Okeneme also scored 11 points while rebounding three and assisting four buckets.
 
After a travel-heavy five days spanning across Utah and southern California, the Urban Knights will not play again until Saturday when they face the Domincan Penguins for their final road game of the 2015-16 season.