SAN FRANCISCO – Never trailing during a rematch from last season's NCAA DII West Region Quarterfinal, Academy of Art men's basketball extracted a measure of revenge against Chico State as ART U took the lead early before pulling away late with a dominant second frame, remaining undefeated on the campaign and earning its first ever victory over Chico by an 84-57 final. 

"Tonight we took another huge step in beating a very good Chico State team that was [receiving votes] in the region," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "On top of that, it was the first time ART U has beaten Chico in the history of the school, which was something our guys took pride in going into the game and after the loss in the NCAA Tournament last year."

While each side hit a 3-pointer within the first minute of the opening tip, a minor scoring drought for both teams gave way to consecutive 3-pointers for the Urban Knights (4-0). The first came from junior forward Latrell Williams followed by senior forward Mike Asante, forcing Chico State (1-3) into a timeout before the first media break. Though the Wildcats kept the score close for a few minutes, Academy of Art built a double-digit lead with under six minutes to play in the frame, largely helped by six buckets from beyond the arc. 

Down but not out, Chico State made it a game once again after cutting the deficit to just two possessions despite the fact that ART U had begun the second period with a 10-point advantage, trailing by just six points less than four minutes into the frame.

Academy of Art then showed why they've been a second-half squad (outscoring opponents 189-132 in 2022-23), pouring in their most points in a single half this season by dropping 50 to protect the lead against the Wildcats. All was jumpstarted by a 13-0 stretch that included 3-pointers from graduate student guards Stephon Hall and Deang Deang, as well as senior guard Klay Brown, and watched the Knights sprint to the finish by knocking down 66.7 percent (20-for-30) of their looks from the floor for their best shooting percentage in any half this season.

By the end of the action ART U connected 11 times from three-point range (11-for-21, 52.4 percent), tying the season high that they set on Nov. 13 against Sonoma State. Seven different Urban Knights recorded a triple on the night, led by the 3-for-4 (75.0 percent) effort from Asante, which helped him lead ART U in points with 15. 

Also reaching double-digit scoring was graduate student forward Will Balata as he fell just shy of Asante with 14 points, while Hall chipped in 12 on 5-for-6 (83.3 percent) shooting and Williams added 10. Though his streak of 20-point games was snapped, Brown nearly reached a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds, and Asante also did work on the glass with seven boards. 

Additionally, the Knights continued their season-opening streak of double-digit assists by producing a season-best 19 helpers. Five of those dimes belonged to Brown, who has totaled 12 assists in just the past two games (4.8 per game for the season), with four others contributing three or more assists (four for Balata). 

After winning by 18 points the last time out against Cal State East Bay, Academy of Art once again set its largest margin of victory thanks to the 27-point win. This was also the second time ART U has scored more than 80 points (in back-to-back contests), a feat the Knights accomplished 11 times last season. 

"We did a great job of playing team basketball as seen by our 19 assists, causing 15 turnovers, and shooting 55.0 percent from the field," Waterman said. "However, we cannot let our guard down as we have two very tough games on the road next week."

The first of those two contests comes on Tuesday, Nov. 22, as the Urban Knights head to Turlock, Calif. to battle Stanislaus State beginning at 5 p.m., then continue on to face Saint Martin's after Thanksgiving on Nov. 25.