AZUSA, Calif. – The Academy of Art men's basketball team was playing in the Pacific West Conference quarterfinals for the second year in a row, but unfortunately could not move into the semifinals after suffering a loss to No. 3 seed Chaminade, 90-64.

"Tonight was a tough way for the season to conclude," said ART U head coach Scott Waterman. "We had played so well to get to this point and unfortunately we didn't have our best effort this evening. Kudos to Chaminade for a heck of a game tonight. It would have been great to have Victor [Ruiz de Carranza] and Nemanja [Kovacevic] leave on a better note, but they will be part of the foundation of ART U basketball for years to come."
 
Both teams were trading buckets in the first half, and the No. 6 seed Urban Knights (12-18, 10-12 PacWest) held a lead by six with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Junior forward Josh Hill was leading the charge, as he had six points in the early going to help ART U to a 44.1 percent shooting mark in the first half.
 
It was then that Chaminade (18-10, 15-7 PacWest) made their move, as they would pull off a 15-4 run to take the lead as the game would move into the break. In knocking down exactly 50 percent of their looks, it was the Silverswords up by seven at the half, 43-36.
 
An 11-2 run by CUH to begin the second half would increase the lead, as Chaminade would not look back. The Urban Knights couldn't keep up with the hot shooting of the Silverswords, with CUH finishing the game with 30 buckets on 49.2 percent shooting to earn a berth in the semifinals by a score of 90-64.
 
Hill was the main force for ART U, pouring in a new career high in points with 23, topping his previous high of 21 set on Feb. 15 against UH Hilo. That scoring helped ART U to dominate the points in the paint, as they led the category 40-26. By finishing with a game-high 14 rebounds, Hill notched his 12th double-double of his junior campaign, which was his highest rebound total since he also snatched 14 against Concordia on Feb. 22. Two Urban Knights ended with nine points in junior guards Stefan Milivojevic and Dante Williams, and senior guard Victor Ruiz de Carranza snagged five boards.
 
Andre Arissol had a game-high 24 points for the Silverswords coming on the strength of 7-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc. As a team, Chaminade knocked down 15 3-pointers to counter ART U's edge in points in the paint, as CUH hit at a 51.7 percent clip from downtown. Four other Silverswords finished in double-figures, including Eliet Donley with 15 points and six rebounds. Kevin Kremer had the team-high in rebounds for Chaminade with nine.
 
For all the latest news on ART U men's basketball, and for the upcoming season in review, check out www.artuathletics.com.