Game #8
ART U Urban Knights (2-5, 2-5 PacWest) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (4-4, 3-0 PacWest)
Friday, February 19, 2021 at 7 p.m.
Belmont, Calif. – Walter Gleason Gym
Live Stats & Video
Game #9
ART U Urban Knights (2-5, 2-5 PacWest) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (4-4, 3-0 PacWest)
Saturday, February 20, 2021 at 7 p.m.
Fresno, Calif. – FPU Special Events Center
Live Stats & Video
RIVALRY RENEWED
The Urban Knights are looking to knock off the Sunbirds for the first time in 2020-21, having met three times previously with all going the way of FPU. That stretch includes an overtime loss on Jan. 30, and most recently an 82-78 defeat on Feb. 6 after a late 3-pointer lifted Fresno Pacific to victory.
TIP-OFF
Both contests are scheduled for 7 p.m., beginning in Belmont, Calif. from Walter Gleason Gym on Friday before wrapping up the season series in Fresno, Calif. at the FPU Special Events Center on Saturday. 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 a thrilling beginning to the week for ART U, knocking down a pair of clutch looks at the
end of regulation before dominating the overtime period against Dominican for
an 80-75 victory. Four Urban Knights scored in double figures that night, with senior guard
Stefan Milivojevic and senior forward
Josh Hill leading the charge with 20 apiece. The Penguins would get the last laugh, winning the last scheduled matchup of the season between the two teams when they were able to withstand a late ART U push
for an 84-79 win. Hill posted his fifth double-double of the season with a 17-point, 11-rebound performance, while redshirt junior guard
Jalen Lovett also added 17 points to go with six boards.
This week's performance earned Hill
his first career PacWest NorCal Player of the Week honor, and returned him
among the nation's leaders in double-doubles in NCAA Division II. The forward is currently tied for 16th in the category thanks to his average of 15.1 points per game and team-leading 13.0 rebounds per game on the year. Milivojevic is the team leader in scoring average, dropping 17.0 points per game on the strength of 43.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc (team high). Pacing the team in helpers is senior guard
Joshua Bagley with 4.0 assists per game, while Lovett and junior guard
Christian Popoola Jr. have been active defensively by producing nine steals apiece this season.
RECORD CHASING
With his first bucket against the Penguins on Feb. 13, Milivojevic became the first player in
ART U men's basketball history to reach 1,000 points, joining women's basketball alumni Jasmin Guinn, Regina Camera, Zoie Sheng, and Sha'Nice Storey in the Urban Knights 1,000-point club.
A strong year on the glass means that Hill is now just 41 boards shy of second place in ART U
in career rebounds behind former teammate
Victor Ruiz de Carranza's 377. The senior forward continues to increase his lead in career rebounding average with the Urban Knights, snatching an impressive 9.1 rebounds per game in 37 career contests.
FLIGHT OF THE SUNBIRDS
Fresno Pacific has only taken the floor twice since the Sunbirds last met with the Urban Knights, splitting a pair of games with Azusa Pacific in non-PacWest action. A 94-84 win kicked off the pair of contests with the Cougars, but APU would get revenge a week later with a 98-62 victory. Powering the team is foward Aamondae Coleman, averaging an impressive 18.8 points per game to accompany a team-leading 6.6 rebounds per game. FPU has won all three matchups thus far this season, and they lead the all-time matchup, 11-5.
