OAKLAND, Calif. -- In a spectacular come from behind victory, Academy of Art men's basketball triumphed over Holy Names 82-79 thanks to career highs, a critical steal, and perseverance.

"I'm truly proud of the heart and determination demonstrated by these young men tonight," said head coach Julius Barnes. "To come from behind against a really good team in a hostile environment, was truly something special. Both teams battled their tails off and we are very grateful to come away with the win."

ART U was down 10-5 early in the first half when sophomore guard Stefan Milivojevic made a jumper that sparked the Urban Knights. The sophomore from Serbia, played a large role in the overtime win, shooting 2-3 from beyond the arc and 5-9 from the field. He finished the night with 15 points, five rebounds, one assist, and a game changing steal in his 40 minutes on the floor which is more than any other Knight all season.

ART U went on a short scoring run to take an 11-10 lead, capped off by a layup from senior guard Kiel Long. Holy Names regained the lead, but Milivojevic finished another layup to tie the game at 15. The Knights and Hawks remained close and swapped the lead until Holy Names extended it to 36-28.

Sophomore guard Dante Williams came off the bench and finished a layup to put ART U back in the game. D. Williams gave a sensational performance against the Hawks, setting a career-high in points with 32 while shooting 10-17 from the field and making his only three-pointer.

"Stef and Dante played extremely well tonight," said Barnes. "They made big plays especially down the stretch."

The Urban Knights scored six unanswered points to bring the score to 38-35 as the teams entered the locker room.

ART U continued to battle against the Hawks but the lead slipped away as they saw themselves down 56-41 with 12:48 to play.

With just over 10 minutes junior forward Andrija Blatancic made a big defensive rebound that he took down court for a layup to start an offensive push for the Knights.

Blatancic continued to form the cornerstone of ART U's offense, finishing the night with 21 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and a steal. The offensive duo of D. Williams and Blatancic combined for 11 points over a four minute span. ART U closed in on HNU's lead with shutdown defense sparked by junior guard Chance Maxwell, whose energy was palpable on the court.

"Chance came off the bench and played tremendous defense," said Barnes. "Ultimately everyone has a job to do and tonight, they all pitched in to help us come away with the win."

With a pair of D. Williams free throws ART U brought the score to 74-72. D. Williams had an impressive performance from the line shooting 11-14 in free throws, as well as scoring 32 of 43 ART U bench points.

In one of the most critical moments of the season with just seconds on the clock Milivojevic ripped the ball from the Hawks and took it in for the equalizing layup, to send the game into overtime with the score tied up at 74.

Using Milivojevic's game tying steal as a catalyst, the Urban Knights opened overtime with back-to-back buckets from D. Williams quickly giving them a four point lead.

The fate of the game was sealed with consecutive baskets from Blatanic and Milivojevic and a missed last second three-pointer by the Hawks. The Urban Knights had emerged victorious. ART U had defeated HNU 82-79.

"The guys showed a lot of resolve tonight," said Barnes. "They didn't panic when they got down, they didn't turn on one another. It was amazing to see them stick together and find solutions to the challenges that they were presented with. It's very rewarding to see it start to click for them."

The overtime win puts the Knights over .500 in conference with a record of 6-5, and vaults them into sixth place over the Hawks. ART U will travel to southern California to face Concordia on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m.