SAN DIEGO – Though Academy of Art men's basketball and Point Loma each boasted a double-digit lead during their Pacific West Conference clash on Saturday, the contest would be decided in the closing moment when the last-second shot attempt from PLNU bounced wide, letting ART U leave with a 76-74 victory to extend their program record to five straight wins. 

"Tonight was a huge win for the ART U men's basketball program," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "To go on the road and beat one of the top team in the conference is a huge testament to our team. We defended really well and made some adjustments to help us win, but what I loved was how hard we played for the entire game. This will pay off for the rest of conference play."

It was even as could be throughout the majority of the first half until the Sea Lions (4-6, 1-2, PacWest) pulled away with an 11-0 run, playing with renewed energy as they welcomed back 2021 PacWest Preseason Player of the Year Kaden Anderson. Needing to make a move, the Urban Knights (7-3, 3-0 PacWest) responded with 11 unanswered points of their own, completely erasing the deficit to send the game into break tied at 33-33. Much like Thursday's victory over Concordia, key in the first half was ART U's defense as they forced eight turnovers by Concordia in the period, with three coming during the final final minutes of the frame. 

Roles were reversed in the second half with the two teams trading shots until the Knights grabbed control of the action with a 10-point lead on multiple occasions. The last of those instances would occur with just 2:20 remaining, but instead of cruising to the finish as in previous games, things remained tight with the Sea Lions shooting above 40 percent from the field. Concordia shifted into foul mode to send ART U to the line and try to preserve time, but despite clutch free throws at the line from graduate student guard Denny Slay, the Sea Lions still had one final opportunity to tie it up with exactly 1.0 second on the clock. 

As they're known for, the tough ART U defense forced a fadeaway jumper from near the baseline on the left wing, with the ball bouncing high off the rim and out as the Knights held on for their closest victory of the campaign. Not only does the win keep Academy of Art's PacWest record unblemished in three attempts, but the win snaps a 12-game losing streak against the Sea Lions, with the last win over PLNU coming in a 63-61 effort back on Dec. 3, 2013. In fact, the Knights had not won on the road against Point Loma since the first ever meeting between the two teams on Jan. 31, 2013 (77-69). Having just completed a short sweep of Southern California opponents, Academy of Art has now produced a three-game PacWest winning streak in each of the past three seasons (excluding the COVID-shortened season). 

Topping the four Urban Knights in double figures was junior guard Klay Brown with 16 points and seven rebounds, with most of his damage coming from beyond the arc thanks to a total of four triples (4-for-7). Just missing out on a double-double was sophomore forward Latrell Williams, pairing 13 points with a game-high nine rebounds as he increases his PacWest-leading total. Matching his 13 points was Slay, who was 7-for-8 from the free throw line and iced the game for ART U down the stretch, while graduate student guard Joshua Bagley provided 11 points off the bench on 4-for-6 shooting (66.7 percent). 

Redshirt junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. collected three steals by the game's end, the most of the six Urban Knights who recorded a steal, as ART U finished with 10 steals as a unit. It was the fourth straight game that they have recorded double-digit steals, and is the sixth time on the season (most: 14, vs Dominican on Dec. 4). 

ART U will face its first opponent from the state of Hawaii the next time out with the Knights playing host to Chaminade at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 19.