BELMONT, Calif. – A true team performance helped Academy of Art men's basketball weather an early second half comeback attempt by Biola on Thursday, pushing the lead to double-digits late in the frame as ART U cruised to an 85-71 Pacific West Conference victory on Senior Night. Prior to the game, ART U honored the careers of junior guard Grant Bellis, graduate student guard Denny Slay, graduate student forward Adrian Byrd-Jelinek, and graduate student guard Joshua Bagley, and celebrated their contributions to ART U men's basketball. 

"I am so glad we were able to send Adrian, Joshua, Denny and Grant out with a win on senior night," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "They have played a huge role in building this program and it has not gone unnoticed. Tonight we executed our game plan on both ends of the floor really well. The big stat was [that] we had 17 assists and eight turnovers, we shared and took care of the ball which allowed us to get great looks at the rim. We will enjoy this one tonight but need to get ready for another huge game against Fresno Pacific on Saturday."

The two teams were neck-and-neck throughout most of the first half, leading to a total of seven lead changes in the period alone while neither side could build a lead of more than two possessions. It wasn't until less than five minutes left in the frame that the Urban Knights (16-11, 12-7 PacWest), who were looking for revenge after a two-point overtime loss earlier in the season, would string together a significant 12-0 run in just a two-minute stretch, resulting in a double-digit lead.

Responding with a trey and a layup just before the half was the Eagles (19-7, 13-6), cutting the ART U lead down to just eight points. That momentum would carry over to start the second period, utilizing an 8-0 run at the beginning of the frame to continue trimming the lead, this time to just three points. 

ART U would cling to its margin with the help of the three-ball, at one time hitting four straight 3-pointers albeit not on consecutive possessions, with Bagley starting the stretch before junior forward Mike Asante dropped the next two. The span would be capped off by Slay, and for all four Urban Knights, those would be their only triples in the game. 

From that point on the game plan would be to drive the lane, leading to the 17 assists Waterman had mentioned, their most helpers in their past nine games since they had 18 against against these same Eagles in the overtime loss. The ball distribution helped lead the Knights to one of their best turnover margins of the season, pairing those assists with just eight turnovers which was one off their season-low. All of that was in addition to the hot second-half shooting from ART U, knocking down 54 percent of their looks in the second period, and with Biola forced to foul early, Academy of Art would ice the game at the line. 

Tonight's win was not only an immediate rebound after their second five-game winning streak of the season was snapped at the hands of Azusa Pacific last time out, the victory also ended a three-game losing streak to the Eagles, their first win over Biola since they won 61-57 in La Mirada on Mar. 2, 2019. 

It also kept alive Academy of Art's chance of potentially moving up to the No. 3 seed in the PacWest Championship Tournament. Though the Knights are potentially looking at a No. 4/5 seed, they could still leapfrog this same Biola team should ART U defeat Fresno on Saturday coupled with a BU loss to Dominican. That would lead to a tie for third, with Academy of Art holding the edge by virtue of a win earlier this season over Point Loma. 

Five Urban Knights would end the action in double figures offensively, including a team-best eighth double-double of the campaign from sophomore forward Latrell Williams as posted a 13-point, 11-rebound effort. Leading the way in points was Byrd-Jelinek, as his trio of three-balls led him to drop 18 points (7-for-10 overall), while also adding a pair of steals and assists. Two rebounds shy of his own double-double was Asante, snatching eight boards with his 16 points including a pair of triples. Rounding out the group was Slay with 14 points while Bagley chipped in 11 points and a team-best six assists. 

With Senior Night having come and gone, the conclusion of the regular season is upon us with ART U traveling down to Fresno to end the campaign against the Sunbirds in what could be a PacWest Championship Tournament preview.