SAN FRANCISCO – In ART U's first PacWest conference game of the year, the Urban Knights trailed by just one point with six seconds left, but ultimately lost a battle against preseason PacWest favorite Point Loma.
 
ART U came out fast with an offensive attack, getting out to an early 9-2 lead that started on a 6-0 run to open the game and was topped off by a three-pointer from junior guard Victor Ruiz de Carranza.
 
Carranza ended the game with eight points on the night, went 2-3 from the field, and 1-1 at the from beyond the arc.
 
Halfway through the first half Academy of Art led the Sea Lions 15-8 on points from six different Urban Knights who were shooting 58% from the field. The Sea Lions began to close the gap and with just under eight minutes left to play in the half, brought the game within one point 17-16. ART U immediately answered back with a three-pointer from senior guard Cobe Williams, who came into today's game second in scoring for ART U with 7.8 points per game.
 
With only two minutes left in the first half, Point Loma came back with fast paced play allowing them to jump ahead 28-20 and go into the half leading 30-23.
 
C. Williams and junior forward Andrija "Dre" Blatancic led the team in scoring at the end of the half with five points each.
 
C. Williams continued his scoring at the beginning of the second half with a finger roll that kicked off a run for ART U. Academy of Art brought the score to 32-29 with just under 16 minutes reamining after a shot made by senior center Cameron Niven on a fast break.
 
Sophomore guard Dante Williams propelled the Urban Knights into their first lead of the second half with a long three-point shot. He further extended the lead 36-32 with a layup and free throw to complete the three-point play.  D. Williams would be the eighth player added to the scoring column on the night.
 
Point Loma took a 37-36 lead, but the advantage was short lived, after a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Stefan Milivojevic put the Knights ahead 38-37.

No team would lead by more than three points for the remainder of the game. The Knight's final lead came with 2:45 left to play when Niven powered up a contested layup bringing the score to 49-48. Niven led ART U in scoring with 10 points while shooting 5-13 from the field. He also led the team in rebounds with eight.
 
C. Williams followed closely behind Niven in scoring with nine points, shooting 3-5 from the field, 1-3 on three-pointers, and 2-4 in free throws. The senior guard also collected three assists, just one behind fellow senior guard Zuri Williams who ended the night with four.
 
The Urban Knights brought the game within a single point and both teams traded fouls in an attempt to extend the game, but despite ART U's best efforts, they fell 54-51.
 
Academy of Art ended the game shooting 41.3% from the field, 40% on three-pointers, and had a total of nine players score.
 
After the close lose ART U drops to 0-6 overall and 0-1 in conference. The Urban Knights will search for their first win of the season, Saturday, Dec. 1, 3:30 p.m. at Kezar Pavilion against Concordia.