SAN FRANCISCO -- In the inaugural game of the 2018-2019 season, Academy of Art men's basketball dropped their opener to SF State 78-41 at the SF State Tip-off Classic.

SF State went out to an early lead, scoring 12 points before senior guard Zuri Williams scored ART U's first points of the 2018-2019 season on a free throw. Less than a minute later sophomore guard Stefan Milivojevic hit a three pointer from the right wing to chip away at the eight point deficit. Junior guard Victor Ruiz de Carranza collected his first career points on a pair of free throws to cap off first half scoring and send Academy of Art into the half trailing 29-8.

Senior guard Cobe Williams claimed the first points of the second half for the Urban Knights with a 3-pointer assisted by Carranza. The Gators bounced back with eight unanswered points before sophomore guard Stefan Milivojevic drained his second 3-pointer of the game. Milivojevic ended the game shooting an exceptional 66 percent from beyond the arc. Redshirt senior Brenden Otero saw his first career points for ART U shortly thereafter on a jumper that brought the score to 48-16. On ART U's next points, junior forward Lake Del Mar hit back to back jumpers in the paint for his first career points.

Academy of Art went on a run with a minute and a half left, scoring six unanswered points, including four from junior guard Nemanja Kovacevic , but the deficit proved too large to overcome, forcing ART U to drop the match 78-41.

Cobe Williams led the Urban Knights with nine points, followed closely by Milivojevic and sophomore forward Luka Radovic who both put up six. Senior guard Zuri Williams led ART U in minutes and was solid defensively, posting three steals and a block in his 33 minutes.

After the loss Academy of Art opens the season with an 0-1 record. ART U will close out the SF State Tip-off Classic with Sonoma State tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.