Game #12
ART U Urban Knights (8-3, 4-0 PacWest) at USF Dons (12-1, 0-0 WCC)
Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 at 6 p.m.
San Francisco – War Memorial Gym
Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video

FINAL CALL
Academy of Art men's basketball will say goodbye to the calendar year of 2021 with one final non-conference matchup, as ART U puts its program-best six-game winning streak on the line against San Francisco neighbor and NCAA Division I foe University of San Francisco on Dec. 28, the second contest against a DI opponent for the Knights this season. 

TIP-OFF
Tuesday's contest with the Dons is set for a 6 p.m. tip time from War Memorial Gym on the campus of USF. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram, as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps. 

KNIGHT WATCH
Academy of Art moved into first place in the Pacific West Conference thanks to a 100-77 win over Chaminade in the final game before the holiday break, as ART U is now the only remaining team without a loss in PacWest action. The win established a four-game PacWest winning streak, the longest such streak in Urban Knights history. Starting with a 29-2 run in the first frame, ART U largest lead was a 37-point margin, and the Knights would go on to set the third highest point total on the most field goals made (43) in program history. 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. It was the third time the Knights hit triple digits in school history, and the first since they tied the program record with 107 points against Simon Fraser on Nov. 21, 2014. The scoring against CUH came on a season and program best 26 assists, tying the mark that they set against Holy Names on Feb. 13, 2020. 

This season, the Knights are 8-0 when scoring above 75 points and average 85.1 points per game in those contests (shooting above 40 percent in all eight games), but are 0-3 when scoring below that mark and average just 61.3 ppg (shooting below 40 percent in all three games). That split leads to an overall average of 78.6 ppg on the strength of 46.5 percent shooting from the field, ranking them third in the PacWest in both categories. Academy of Art has been riding the hot hand during the winning streak, knocking down over 50 percent of their looks in five of the last six games. Defense has been a hallmark of the team this season with ART U often setting the tone early in the game by closing passing lanes and keeping hands active, leading the Knights to be the PacWest leaders in total steals (112), steals per game (10.18) and turnovers forced (191). Other categories in which the Knights rank inside the top-5 in the PacWest: field goal percentage defense (5th; 43.2 percent), 3-point field goal percentage (4th; 33.9 percent), free throw percentage (4th; 74.4 percent), and turnover margin (2nd; +2.36). 

Leading the four Urban Knights that are averaging double-digit scoring is graduate student guard Deang Deang with 13.8 ppg on the strength of 55.9 percent shooting, with the field goal percentage leading all of the PacWest. Providing value with both his scoring and his work on the glass, sophomore forward Latrell Williams is nearly averaging a double-double this season with 12.0 ppg and 8.9 rebounds per game, having produced four on the season already. He not only leads ART U, but also the PacWest with his rebounding average and in total rebounds (98). Closing out the group is a pair of Urban Knights that are just reaching 10.0 ppg in junior guard Klay Brown (10.5 ppg) and graduate student guard Denny Slay (10.4 ppg). Running point in the offense is graduate student point guard Joshua Bagley, who finds himself tied with Slay for 9th in the PacWest in assists per game with 2.8. 

Appearing among the defensive leaders in the PacWest is Brown, who is tied for the conference lead in steals per game at 2.0 along with redshirt junior guard Christian Popoola Jr., while Deang is ninth at 1.6. Brown also slots in first in total steals (19), with Deang in seventh (18), Slay tied for eighth (17), and Popoola Jr. in 10th (16). Meanwhile, sophomore forward Cheickna Sissoko is tied for 10th in blocks per game at 0.6, swatting away a season-high five would-be shot takers during the win over Chaminade, the most in a single PacWest game this season. 

KNIGHTS' QUEST
Helping the Knights start 2-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 season was the duo of Popoola Jr. and Williams as the two were named to the SF State Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team. For Popoola Jr., he averaged 15.5 points per game and was clutch at the free throw line against the Gators, becoming the fifth Urban Knight to be perfect at the line with at least 10 attempts in a single game by going 10-for-10. Williams chipped in an average of 12.5 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game over the first two contests, including a double-double in his first game as a Knights where he dropped 19 points with 11 rebounds. Popoola Jr. also collected a Pacific West Conference Defender of the Week honor on Nov. 15, the first PacWest weekly award of his career, capping off a week where he averaged 3.5 steals per game as well as 7.0 defensive rebounds (eight total). 

Also key in the 2-0 start was Deang as he chipped in 13.5 ppg in the season-opening tournament and grabbed his own double-double during the win over the Seawolves with 20 points and 10 boards, going a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. He became only the second player in program history to post a perfect shooting percentage while making at least eight buckets, joining Aaron Aikman who did so on Nov. 9, 2013.

After a three-game slide that included losses to a pair of squads that now enjoy a national ranking in No. 4 Chico State and No. 15 Cal State San Bernardino, the Knights responded with a 90-78 win over Saint Martin's before capturing a signature win in the history of the program with a 79-60 defeat of UC Davis, the first victory over a DI opponent in the regular season in program history. ART U knocked down exactly half of their looks from the floor but hit on a season-best 61.5 percent (8-for-13) of their looks from downtown, the highest 3-point percentage in a game by a PacWest member school this season. 

PacWest action for the Knights began with an all-around impressive 91-71 toppling of Dominican, the largest win over the Penguins in program history (previous: 17 points, 79-62 on Feb. 1, 2019). Academy of Art showed their defensive grit and set a pair of their season highs that night, including 14 steals and six blocks, leading Bagley to be named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Dec. 6 thanks to a career-high four steals.

Following that was the first ever undefeated road trip to Southern California in ART U history, with an impressive 90-77 victory over Concordia before narrowly escaping 76-74 over Point Loma and the return of PacWest Preseason Player of the Year Kaden Anderson. Strong on the glass in the victories was Williams by snatching a total of 15 defensive rebounds (22 total), becoming the third Urban Knight this year to be named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Dec. 13. This is the first time in program history that more than one Urban Knight has earned the award in a single season, having captured exactly one such honor in each year starting with the 2013-14 campaign through 2017-18. 

DARKEST BEFORE THE DON
Having an impressive season thus far is the University of San Francisco, posting a 12-1 record with their only blemish being a one-point loss on the road to Grand Canyon, 49-48. Despite the loss, the Dons followed that up on the next day with a one-point win of their own against Arizona State (66-65) before handling Southern Illinois (64-52). Though they have yet to play a game in the West Coast Conference, USF sits just outside the top 25 teams in the nation at No. 32, averaging 73.4 ppg on the strength of 47.3 percent shooting from the field. The Dons boast an impressive scoring margin at +11.3, holding opponents to just 61.9 ppg on less than 40 percent shooting. Three Dons average double figures led by the 17.8 ppg from Jamaree Bouyea, who also leads the team with 3.8 assists per game while pulling down the second-highest rebounding average with 4.4 per game. This will be the second all-time meeting between the two teams, with USF having won the first battle all the way back on Nov. 21, 2008, the inaugural season of ART U men's basketball and the second official game in the program's history. 

EARLY RUN PROPELS ART U TO HIT TRIPLE DIGITS IN WIN
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. 

LOOKING AHEAD
The calendar will read 2022 when ART U returns to the court with the Urban Knights hosting a three-game homestand against PacWest foes, beginning with Azusa Pacific on Jan. 3 before rematches against Point Loma on Jan. 8 and Concordia on Jan. 10.