RIVERSIDE, Calif. – After coming alive in the first half with 17 unanswered points, Academy of Art men's basketball was able to hold on for their first victory of the season, a 70-50 triumph over Missouri S&T.

"I'm very proud of the guys and their collective efforts tonight," said head coach Julius Barnes. "They were locked in defensively, did an outstanding job on the boards and made plays for each other on the offensive end."

In the opening minutes of the first half, ART U and the Miners twice traded the lead and kept things close: after seven minutes-played, the score was only separated by one point, 10-9. However, the Urban Knights surged from behind at the 12:08 mark to gain their first lead of the game thanks to a layup from junior center Cameron Niven. After the Miners tied things up at 11 points apiece, ART U caught fire, rattling off 17 unanswered points to take a 17-point lead (29-12) with 2:29 to play. With points being shared all around, freshman guard Stefan Milivojevic led the field with eight.
 
The Urban Knights scored four straight points to open the second period, keeping their momentum alive from the first half. Throughout the period, Academy of Art continued to uphold their dominant lead, never relenting their advantage. The closest Missouri S&T came was 14 points with 14:47 to play. However, Academy of Art continued to uphold their lead, finishing the game with a 20-point, 70-50 victory.
 
Three Urban Knights scored double-digit points including freshman forward Nick Conway with a career-high, 14. The Seattle native went 5-for-8 and finished with three rebounds as well. Senior guard Kendall Brown posted his sixth-consecutive game in the double-digit point-range with 11 and nearly double-doubled with eight rebounds as well. Meanwhile, senior guard Uchenna Okeneme finished with 10 points, his highest mark of the season. The Knights' defense was impressive as well, holding Missouri S&T to just 50 points, the lowest that they have held any opponent since February 26, 2013 when they defeated Holy Names 61-49.

"The freshmen really stepped it up and gave us some solid minutes," said Barnes. "It was a total team effort and we'll look to replicate this as we head into the conference portion of our schedule."
 
Now 1-5 after obtaining their first win of the season, the Urban Knights will return home for four days before heading back to Southern California. There, they will take on Azusa Pacific on November 30 before travelling to Dixie State on December 2.