SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Sunday's Pacific West Conference showdown with Chaminade was an impressive all-around performance by Academy of Art men's basketball, as ART U used a 29-2 run in the first half while tying the program record with 26 assists to produce a 100-77 victory over CUH, remaining undefeated in PacWest play and hitting the century mark for just the third time in school history. 

"Tonight's performance was a great way to send our team into the [holiday] break," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "Again, we were phenomenal at sharing the ball, and used our defensive pressure to create our offense throughout the game. We cannot let this momentum slip because of the break, and we look forward to continuing to put good performances together throughout the rest of the conference season."

Though it was the Silverswords (4-7, 2-3 PacWest) who took the early lead, it was short-lived with the Urban Knights (8-3, 4-0 PacWest) establishing their lengthy run over a six-minute stretch through the middle of the first half. By the end of the frame, ART U had shot an eye-popping 69.2 percent from the floor and had already collected 10 steals (leading to 23 points off turnovers) in building a 61-29 halftime lead. Known for their fast pace and explosiveness to drive the lane, Academy of Art scored 30 first-half points on the fast break while also scoring over half of their points (36) from the paint.

ART U was rarely tested in the second frame, establishing a 37-point lead for the largest margin in the contest and ultimately cruising to the 100-point mark for the third-most points scored in a game in school history. It was the first time that the Knights had hit triple digits since they tied the program record with 107 points against Simon Fraser on Nov. 21, 2014. That scoring came on a season and program best 26 assists, tying the mark that they set against Holy Names on Feb. 13, 2020. 

While the shooting hand of the Knights would cool a bit in the second frame, they still finished at a season-best 55.8 percent shooting from the floor, setting yet another school record with a total of 43 made field goals (43-for-77). Tonight's result further extended the Urban Knights' program-record winning streak to six games, including walking away victorious against each of their first four PacWest foes, the longest winning streak against PacWest opponents in school history. Thanks to the victory, Academy of Art is now the only unbeaten team in PacWest play and sits first place in the standings.

Eight of ART U's 43 buckets belonged to graduate student guard Deang Deang, who led five Urban Knights in double figures with 18 points thanks to his 8-for-10 (80.0 percent) effort from the field, pushing him into first place in the conference in field goal percentage (55.9 percent on the season). Just behind him was junior forward Mike Asante with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting (60.0 percent) with a career-high eight assists, accounting for nearly one-third of ART U's total helpers. Graduate student guard Denny Slay dropped 14 points to go with his five assists, while sophomore forward Latrell Williams and junior guard Klay Brown added 12 points apiece. This marked the fifth time this season that five Urban Knights have ended a game scoring double-digits.

Just missing a double-double was sophomore forward Cheickna Sissoko, who snatched a team-high 10 rebounds to pair with his nine points, while the PacWest's leading rebounder in Williams pulled down a total of six. Collecting nearly all of ART U's six blocks in the game was Sissoko, swatting away five attempts just by himself, which is the most blocks in a PacWest game this season. Seven different Urban Knights would come tally a steal in the contest as they ended with a total of 13 (one off of season best), hitting double-digit steals for the fifth consecutive game and seventh time this campaign, with Brown and redshirt junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. leading the way with three apiece.

It will be over a week until the Urban Knights next take the court, as they look to keep their momentum through the holiday break when they get ready for the final contest of the 2021 calendar year when they face USF at 6 p.m. on Dec. 28.