OAKLAND, Calif. – After trading blows with Holy Names for nearly 40 minutes, the Academy of Art men's basketball team came out on top in a Pacific West Conference matchup by a final of 85-76 on Tuesday. 
 
"Tonight's win was a total team effort," said head coach Scott Waterman. "All 10 guys who played made significant contributions and our bench had a ton of energy as well. Winning conference games on the road is tough, and tonight our team defense had some great possessions that created offense to widen the margin on the scoreboard in the second half."
 
Neither team could take control of the game in the first half, as the lead changed hands 12 times. The largest margin for either team was five points, belonging to ART U, with only five minutes remaining in the half. Holy Names would erase that with a 6-0 run to retake the lead, but it would be the Urban Knights who took the lead into the break 39-38.  
 
That trend would continue into the second half with the game tied at 60-60 with eight minutes to go. It was then that ART U seized the game, reeling off a 12-1 run to jump in front, 72-61. HNU would trim the lead back down to three, but a 3-pointer from junior guard Stefan Milivojevic stopped the momentum and allowed the Urban Knights to ice the game with free throws in the closing moments. 
 
"We can use this momentum to help carry us for the rest of this road trip coming up," Waterman said. "It was great to see us be aggressive on offense, which was reflected in our 15 assists while also valuing the ball with 12 turnovers."

 
Junior guard Victor Ruiz de Carranza pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in a double-double effort to go along with 10 points. Milivojevic had a game-high 27 points, 16 of which came in the second half, on 8-for-12 shooting from the field with four buckets from downtown. Also reaching double-figures was junior guard Joshua Bagley with 12 points. ART U as a team collected 15 assists, led by Bagley and junior forward Josh Hill with three each. 
 
Holy Names had four players reach double-digit scoring, with 18 points from Rob Fuller and 17 from Justin Chambers. Chambers also totaled four rebounds and four steals.
 
The win moves ART U to 5-9 on the year with a 3-4 mark in PacWest play, while HNU drops to 4-9 and is 2-5 in the PacWest. 
 
The Urban Knights will continue their road trip on Saturday when they travel to La Mirada, Calif. To take on Biola at 3 p.m.