Game #9
ART U Urban Knights (5-3, 1-0 PacWest) at CUI Eagles (5-4, 2-1 PacWest)
Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.
Irvine, Calif. – CU Arena
Live Stats & Audio

Game #10
ART U Urban Knights (5-3, 1-0 PacWest) at PLNU Sea Lions (4-5, 1-1 PacWest)
Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021 at 3 p.m.
San Diego – Golden Gymnasium
Live Stats & Audio

HIT THE ROAD, JACK
Winners in each of their last three games, Academy of Art men's basketball puts its streak on the line when it travels to Southern California for a pair of Pacific West Conference clashes against Concordia and Point Loma. 

TIP-OFF
Thursday's battle between the Knights and the Eagles will tip-off at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday's showdown against the Sea Lions will be an afternoon matinee beginning at 3:30 p.m. 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
It was an all-around impressive performance by ART U during their 91-71 victory over Dominican last time out, giving the Urban Knights their first three-game winning streak since they won three in a row during the 2019-20 season. Though ART U was only up four at the half, the Knights were able to crank up the tough defense that they have shown all season, and paired that with their best night shooting of the season en route to the largest win over Dominican in program history (previous: 17 points, 79-62 on Feb. 1, 2019). Helping the team post season-highs in the game for steals (14) and blocks (6) while falling just shy of their best in turnovers forced (23; best: 25, 11/14/21 vs SSU) was graduate student guard Josh Bagley, who collected his first conference weekly award when he was named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Dec. 6 thanks to a career-high four steals, joining redshirt junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. (PacWest Defender of the Week on Nov. 15) as the only two Knights to earn a weekly award thus far into the season. 

This season, the Knights are 5-0 when scoring above 75 points and average 83.0 points per game in those contests, but are 0-3 when scoring below that mark and average just 61.3 ppg in those contests. That split leads to an overall average of 74.9 ppg on an average of 13.5 assists per game, placing them fifth in the conference for scoring average while ranking sixth in helpers. Academy of Art has been riding the hot hand during the winning streak, shooting above 50 percent from the floor in all three contests with a season best mark of 54.5 percent (36-for-66) against the Penguins. Defense has been a hallmark of the team early on 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 (78), steals per game (9.75) and turnovers forced (140). Additionally, Academy of Art is one of just three teams in the PacWest to record a positive turnover margin, ranking second at +2.00. 

Leading the team in scoring in the last game and on the season is graduate student guard Deang Deang with 13.8 ppg, which he boosted with his 25 points on the strength of 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) shooting in the win over the Penguins. Deang has been a knock-down shooter all year, as he is currently tied for fourth in the conference in field goal percentage at 53.1 percent (43-for-81). 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 11.5 ppg and 8.8 rebounds per game, having produced three on the season already. He not only leads ART U, but also the PacWest with his rebounding average and in total rebounds (70). Rounding out the quartet of Urban Knights to average double-digit scoring is junior guard Klay Brown with 10.6 ppg and graduate student forward Adrian Byrd-Jelinek with 10.3 ppg. Running point in the offense is senior guard Joshua Bagley, who after five assists against Dominican now finds himself tied for 10th in the PacWest in assists per game with 3.0. 

Appearing among the defensive leaders in the PacWest is Brown, who leads the conference in both steals per game (2.1) and total steals (17), while tying for sixth in the same categories are Deang and graduate student guard Denny Slay (1.6 spg; 13 total). In blocked shots, Byrd-Jelinek has vaulted to eighth with an average of 0.6 per game (five total, also eighth). 

CONQUERING CONCORDIA
Concordia enters the matchup at 5-4 on the season fresh off of a victory over UH Hilo 72-66, a positive response to their first conference loss the previous time out to Chaminade, 69-62. Despite that loss, the Eagles are still 4-1 in their past five contests including a PacWest-opening win over Hawaii Pacific, averaging 78.0 ppg on the strength of 44.9 percent shooting, both of which are third-best in the PacWest. Leading the way on offense for CUI has been Wayne Arnold, who enters as the top scorer in the PacWest with 26.1 ppg on 45.3 percent shooting. On the boards, Kayle Knuckles pulls down a team high 5.4 rpg, while Joshua Caston chips in 2.2 assists per game. In the eight meetings between Concordia and Academy of Art, it's the Eagles who hold the 6-2 edge. 

STUNNING THE SEA LIONS
Just under .500 on the season is Point Loma, who dropped to 4-5 after a 84-73 loss in their most recent contest against UH Hilo. Over the past four games the Sea Lions are just 1-3, with the lone win coming in PacWest play over Hawaii Pacific, 66-60. An average of 75.2 ppg places PLNU in fourth in the PacWest, but despite the high scoring, rank among the middle of the conference in most statistical categories. Three Sea Lions are over 13.0 ppg game in Myles Franklin (14.2), Brock Mackenzie (14.0), and Hugh Baxter (13.2), while Luke Haupt chips in 11.0 ppg. Point Loma leads the all-time series with ART U, 12-2. 

ART U STARTS PACWEST PLAY WITH CONVINCING WIN OVER DU
A second-half explosion pushed Academy of Art men's basketball to set numerous season-best marks including a season-high in points, as ART U began Pacific West Conference Play with an emphatic 91-71 victory over Dominican on Dec. 4.

LOOKING AHEAD
Only one contest will be on the schedule next week for ART U men's basketball, as the Urban Knights will play host to Chaminade when PacWest action continues on Dec. 19 at 3:30 p.m. from Walter Gleason Gym.