Game #18
ART U Urban Knights (10-7, 6-3 PacWest) vs. FPU Sunbirds (9-4, 3-3 PacWest)
Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 at 3 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Tobin Gymnasium (no fans permitted)
Live Stats & Video

BATTLE IN THE NORTH
Academy of Art men's basketball gets the chance to renew a rivalry with a team that they saw often during the COVID-19 shortened season last year, as ART U will play host to Fresno Pacific in the first meeting between the two teams this season on Saturday. 

TIP-OFF
The only home contest of the week for the Urban Knights will be an afternoon matinee, with tip time set for 3 p.m. against the Sunbirds from Tobin Gymnasium. 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
Tasked with playing three games in five days on the Hawaiian Islands, the Urban Knights came back with a 1-2 record thanks an 83-70 victory over Hawaii Pacific, though it was sandwiched between a pair of defeats at the hands of UH Hilo and Chaminade. After having started the season 8-3, ART U has claimed just two victories in their past six contests, but have remained in second place in the PacWest standings thanks to receiving help from other results in the conference. Contributions came from all around on the trip but returning home with his second consecutive PacWest Weekly award was junior guard Klay Brown, who was tabbed as the PacWest Defender of the Week on Jan. 17 thanks to an average of 2.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 5.0 defensive rebounds per game.

This season the Knights are 10-3 when scoring above 75 points with an average 78.6 points per game in those contests (shot above 40 percent from the field in first 11 games before dropping below last two times out). However, ART U is 0-4 when scoring below that mark and averages just 64.0 ppg (shooting below 40 percent from the floor in all four games). That split leads to an overall average of 79.2 ppg on the strength of 44.3 percent shooting from the field, with the points per game ranking third in the conference. 

Defense has been a hallmark of ART U this season, reaching double-digit steals in 10 of the last 11 games and 12 contests overall. ART U is the only team in the conference to average double-digit steals per game, slotting in as the PacWest leaders in total steals (187), steals per game (11.0, fifth in NCAA Division II) and turnovers forced (311). Other categories in which the Knights rank inside the top-5 in the PacWest: rebounds per game (4th; 35.9), assists per game (T-4th; 11.0), field goal percentage defense (4th; 43.3 percent), free throw percentage (4th; 75.2 percent), ), and turnover margin (1st; +3.12).

When looking at stats from just ART U's nine conference contests, Academy of Art posts the second-best scoring margin at +7.4 while averaging the most points per game in the conference at 83.2, and pulls down the second most rebounds per game with an average of 38.9. They remain at the top in steals per game thanks to an average of 12.2, while also appearing in the top five in the following categories: assists per game (2nd; 15.40), opponent field goal defense (2nd; 42.3 percent), free throw percentage (3rd; 77.8 percent), turnovers forced (1st; 194), turnover margin (1st; +4.90), and blocked shots per game (5th; 3.00).

Leading the five Urban Knights that are averaging double-digit scoring is graduate student guard Deang Deang with 13.3 ppg on the strength of 52.0 percent shooting, with the field goal percentage ranking third in 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 10.9 ppg and 8.3 rebounds per game, having produced five on the season already. His rebounding average is tops on the Knights while also ranking second PacWest, though he is first in the conference in total rebounds (141). The second-highest scoring average on the team is the 11.2 ppg from graduate student guard Denny Slay, while just behind him is Brown with 11.0 ppg. Rounding out the group is graduate guard Joshua Bagley with an average of 10.7 ppg. Meanwhile, both Bagley and Slay are also in the top 10 for assists per game in the PacWest, with Bagley in ninth (3.1 apg) and Slay in 10th (2.8 apg). 

Appearing among the defensive leaders in the PacWest is Brown, who leads the conference in steals per game at 2.5 while Deang (1.8) and Slay (1.7) trail closely behind in third and fourth place, respectively. Also appearing in the top 10 is junior guard Christian Popoola Jr., who appears in seventh with an average of 1.6 steals per game. Meanwhile, junior forward Cheickna Sissoko is 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 PacWest 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 as he snatched 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. 

The final PacWest game of 2021 saw the Urban Knights handily take down Chaminade in a 100-77 win effort, leaving ART U as the only remaining team without a loss in conference action and moving them into sole possession of first place. Additionally, ART U produced a four-game PacWest winning streak, the longest such streak in Urban Knights history. Starting with a 29-2 run in the first frame, 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. 

Matched up against their second NCAA Division I opponent of the season, this time battling San Francisco neighbor USF, the Dons put an end to what had become the Urban Knights' six-game winning streak by giving ART U its first loss this season when reaching the 75 point mark. Leading all scorers was Deang with 21 points on 50 percent shooting (7-for-14) from the floor with a season-high four steals, while Slay chipped in 17 and totaled five assists for the second straight game. 

A pair of rematches against Point Loma and Concordia brought a 1-1 week, as ART U split the season's meetings with the Sea Lions but were able to sweep the Eagles for the first time in program history, while also tying the longest winning streak by either side in the all-time series (three games). Showing up defensively was Brown, who recorded five steals in both games while also averaging 5.5 defensive rebounds per game in being named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Jan. 10. He becomes the fourth Urban Knight to earn the award this season.

SUNBIRDS FLYING SOUTH FOR WINTER
While 9-4 on the season, Fresno Pacific is treading water at .500 in PacWest play with a record of 3-3, though they are coming off a pair of recent victories over Azusa Pacific (71-70) and Concordia (66-44). The Sunbirds are one of six teams with three losses or less in conference action, putting them in prime position to make a run at the PacWest tournament despite currently ranking in the bottom half of most offensive statistical categories. However, FPU has proven to be one of the toughest defensive teams by allowing a conference-lowest 64.5 ppg along with the fifth-most steals per game (5.77). Leading the way for Fresno Pacific is Jelani Watson-Gayle, as his 19.5 ppg scoring average is tops on the Sunbirds and second-best in the PacWest, and he pairs that with an average of 5.4 rebounds per game. Working the glass just slightly better is teammate AJ Kirby, who pulls down an average of 5.5 rpg, who also happens to be tied for the team lead in assists per game at 2.5 apg along with Nate Kendricks. Fresno Pacific holds the edge in the all-time series with Academy of Art by an 13-5 margin, and has won each of the past five meetings. 

CHAMINADE CAPTURES NARROW PACWEST VICTORY OVER ART U
Twice trailing by just five points late in a Pacific West Conference rematch with Chaminade, including the last occurrence coming with just over a minute left, Academy of Art men's basketball was unable to complete a comeback attempt as CUH split the season series with an 84-78 victory on Monday. 

LOOKING AHEAD
A pair of Southern California foes roll into town as the Knights will face off against PacWest members Biola and Azusa Pacific for the first time this season, with the first of the two conference contests coming on Jan. 27 against the Eagles.