BELMONT, Calif. – Playing at home was just what Academy of Art men's basketball had been missing as ART U came out of the gates on fire and stayed that way through the rest of the contest, dominating the second period and achieving program records in the process of a convincing 94-63 victory over Concordia on Thursday. 

"Tonight was a great game to keep our momentum from the Hawaii trip," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "I loved how we continued to share the ball as seen by our 18 assists, and caused havoc on the defensive end. This is just another step towards our ultimate goal and we must have a great practice tomorrow to get ready for our game against first place Point Loma on Saturday, but still, really proud of the effort that we laid out tonight."

A jumper from graduate student Deang Deang and a triple from senior guard Klay Brown, which came after an offensive rebound by Deang, kicked things off for the Urban Knights (12-6, 7-4 PacWest) and ultimately set the tone for the ballgame. It took a Cameron Fini bucket for the Golden Eagles (4-12, 3-8 PacWest) to reach the scoreboard, which led the squads to trade buckets through nearly the majority of the period and included a minute long stretch that saw four straight possessions end in points (two from each side). 

The first tie in the action came after a Bryce Fitzgerald layup while Concordia took their first, and what would be their only, lead of the game when Fini connected from long range to put the Eagles up by three. Only two minutes was how long the lead lasted, as a layup and a later free throw from graduate student guard Will Balata plus a breakaway dunk after a steal by junior forward Latrell Williams put the Knights back on top. 

Shots from downtown by Balata and sophomore forward Jamal Fuller on consecutive possessions helped Academy of Art keep pace ahead of Fitzgerald layups for CUI, and it felt like again the teams traded buckets with ART U maintaining its slight lead until the break at 39-32. Both teams found offense easy to come by, with Concordia actually connecting on a higher percentage of their looks (56.5 percent) compared to the Knights (53.1 percent) despite ART U making more total field goals (17 to 13). 

Offense continued after the interlude as ART U senior forward Mike Asante drained a 3-pointer for the opening points of the half, but while CUI responded with a Fini layup, Academy of Art tallied one of their own from Williams to push the lead into double-digits for good. The Eagles did their best to keep pace with the Knights, as the game yet again featured a period where five consecutive possessions ended with buckets (three for CUI), but ART U still put distance between the two teams with their hot shooting hand.

In both frames the Knights connected on over half of their looks, pushing the floor and finding the extra pass which led them to make 56.4 percent of their attempts from the field in the second frame. By game's end they had gone 39-for-71 (54.9 percent) shooting overall, coming up just shy of their season-best shooting totals that they set during a win over Biola just before the holiday break (40 FG, 58.8 percent). 

That steady offense would result in a 55-point period for Academy of Art, continuing until the final whistle sounded for a 94-63 victory as the Knights enacted revenge for the loss earlier this season on Dec. 3. With tonight's 31-point margin of victory, their largest of the season, the Knights have now recorded a new program record with four wins by 20 or more points in a single season, topping the previous record of three that was set last year. It was also the fifth time that ART U has eclipsed the 90 point barrier, which ties the program record that was also accomplished in 2021-22, and was the third straight game doing so which is yet another ART U best. 

Ball movement was a big reason for the offensive output, as the Knights recorded a total of 18 assists on the night which is their fourth-most in a game this campaign. They assisted on nearly half of their total buckets at 46.2 percent (18-of-39), and they fell one board shy of reaching the 40-rebound barrier for the third consecutive game, though they still managed to hit their season average with 39. While ART U swiped only nine steals on the night, they did force a total of 19 CUI turnovers. 

Though it is not the first time this season that every Urban Knight who saw the floor recorded points, it was a new season best for the number of Knights to do so as all 10 that accumulated game action were responsible for at least one field goal made (previous: nine). Six Urban Knights ended in double-digit scoring, which ties the season best mark that they also achieved at Biola, with Asante collecting team-highs of 16 points and nine rebounds. Adding 15 points apiece was the duo of Williams and Balata, while Fuller posted 13 and Deang chipped in 12. The final to hit that mark was Brown, who had 10 points and the team lead in both assists (five) and steals (three). 

Claiming the game-high in points was Concordia's Fitzgerald, who ended with 22 while Fini added 16 points and eight rebounds. They were the only two Eagles to finish in double figures, though Kobe Sanders did tally seven points and five assists. 

Academy of Art will return to the court in two days for a marquee matchup, as the Knights play host to PacWest leader No. 20 Point Loma on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. while looking to serve the Sea Lions their first defeat in conference play this year.