OAKLAND, Calif. – Never trailing in a rematch with Concordia in Pacific West Conference action, Academy of Art men's basketball raced out to large lead within minutes of the tip as ART U returned to both the win column and a tie for first place in the conference standings with a 85-71 defeat of CUI. 

"After the tough loss on Thursday, it was good to get back on the court and get a victory," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "We had great energy and all guys contributed. With our Hawaii trip coming up this week, it is another stepping stone for us to build on." 

For the second straight contest the Urban Knights (9-5, 4-1 PacWest) would hit the 85 point mark, pulling off an 18-4 run to start the game and never looking back. It was a sharp difference in the shooting between the two teams, as Academy of Art hit on 40.0 percent (12-for-30) of their looks from the floor while the Eagles (7-6, 4-3 PacWest) converted on just 16.0 percent (4-for-25) of their chances. Though the lead would grow to as large as 20 in the first frame, the halftime score would rest at 36-18. 

A trio of Concordia 3-pointers out of the gate in the second half would briefly cut the ART U lead down to nine points, but junior guard Klay Brown responded with a trey of his own to stop the CUI momentum and return the lead to double-digits, staying above that point for the remainder of the contest. While both teams would run into foul trouble, it would prevent the Eagles from any comeback attempt as the Knights pushed their way to the win while icing the game at the free throw line. Not only did the win move ART U back into a tie for first in the PacWest standings with Biola, it solidified the season sweep of Concordia after a 90-77 win in Irvine, Calif. on Dec. 9, 2021, giving the Knights their largest margin of victory over the Eagles while also tying the longest winning streak by either side in the all-time matchup (three games; CUI still leads series 6-4). 

Tonight's effort featured many of the keys that the Urban Knights have come to be known for this season, as ART U increased its PacWest lead in steals after ending the contest with a total of 11, marking the eighth consecutive game of 10+ steals and 10th overall on the campaign. Leading the way for Academy of Art with five steals was Brown, his second time doing so in as many games, while graduate student guard Deang Deang and graduate student forward Adrian Byrd-Jelinek each chipped in two.

On the other end of the floor, Academy of Art finished the game at 46.0 percent shooting (29-for-63) from the floor for their ninth straight game above the 40 percent mark, while dominating key areas such as points in the paint (42-18), fast break points (28-9) and second chance points (10-5). Meanwhile, ART U would also hold the edge on the boards after tying their season-high of 41 rebounds to the 37 of Concordia. 

As Waterman alluded to, every player did in fact contribute at least two points, with all but one of 11 Urban Knights to play making at least one bucket. Pacing the team was sophomore forward Cheickna Sissoko with a season-high 21 points, hitting on seven of his 11 attempts (63.6 percent) from the field. Just behind him was Brown with 18 points, doing most of his damage from beyond the arc where he was 5-for-6 (83.3 percent; 6-for-7 overall). Also hitting double-digit scoring was redshirt junior guard Christian Popoola Jr., with six of his 10 points coming from the free throw line. Grabbing the team-high in boards was junior forward Mike Asante with 10, his first time with double-digit boards this year, which he paired with five points and three assists. 

When the Urban Knights nex take the floor, it will be the start of a three-game Hawaii road trip as ART U battles against the Vulcans on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 9:30 p.m. PST (7:30 p.m. HST).