BELMONT, Calif. – Academy of Art men's basketball raced out to a 20-point lead by halftime of its Pacific West Conference contest against Fresno Pacific on Thursday and never looked back, as ART U dropped the third-most points in program history while matching a program record with their 34-point win over FPU on Senior Night by a final score 103-69. 

"What a great win on Senior Night," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "Klay, Mike, Deang, Will and Stephon have helped take this program to new heights and I am so happy that we were able to send them off the right way. Our defense smothered FPU all night forcing 22 turnovers, and again we were aggressive on offense leading to us shooting over 55 percent for the game."

That defense showed up from the opening whistle, as the Urban Knights (19-8, 13-6 PacWest) used a pair of steals early that led to fastbreak dunks for both senior guard Klay Brown and senior forward Mke Asante, as well as a massive block by Brown on a would-be Sunbirds (8-18, 5-14 PacWest) shot attempt from the paint. Nearly a minute later, a third ART U steal turned into a fastrbreak layup at the other end for graduate student guard Deang Deang, putting the Knights on a 6-0 run to start the game. 

While Fresno Pacific eventually found the bottom of the net and tried to keep pace, Academy of Art truly seized all control of the game with a 9-0 run that gave them their first double-digit lead of the night, putting ART U up by 15 points. The lead would never again drop below that mark and instead only continued to swell, as a second 9-0 run for the Knights pushed the game into the 20-point territory with over six minutes to play in the period.

Both sides exchanged offense as the game headed towards the half, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Brown (following a block by graduate student guard Will Balata) ensured the Knights kept a 21-point advantage at the break. There were five total triples in the frame for ART U, as they went 5-for-11 (45.5 percent) from beyond the arc. 

Action continued much the same way in the second half, with ART U continuing to control the pace of play before eventually pushing the lead past 30 points by the 11 minute mark. While the lead would grow as large as 38 points on four different occasions, it never passed the 40-barrier as a last few buckets for the Sunbirds closed out the contest with a 103-69 final. Tonight's win closed out a season sweep for the Knights over the Sunbirds, as well as ART U's 13th victory by double-digits and fourth by 30-points, both of which further extend their new program records. The 34-point margin of victory also tied a program record, which they set just two games ago against UC Santa Cruz. 

With the defense continuing to shine, that turned into quick offense for the Knights as they closed out the second by going 21-for-32 (65.6 percent) from the floor, marking the ninth time in their last 12 periods of game action dating back to Azusa Pacific on Feb. 2 that they have shot above 50 percent. That effort helped Academy of Art to finish 55.7 percent (39-for-70) for the contest, the fourth time in the last five games that they have done so.

The 103 points scored on the night are not only a season best but the third-best mark in program history, as it is just the fourth time the Knights have gone over the century mark in school history. ART U has now eclipsed the 90-point barrier for the eighth time this season, as they further extended their ART U record by having five different Urban Knights record double-digit points on the night. Tops among them was Balata, as he went for 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting (64.3 percent) to go along with six rebounds, two steals and two assists. Contributing 16 points each was the duo of junior forward Latrell Williams and sophomore forward Jamal Fuller, with Williams doing some of everything on the night by tying for team highs in rebounds (six), assists (four), and steals (four). Both Asante and Brown closed out with 15 apiece. 

One of the nation's best defenders, Brown finished with four steals on the night to tie with Williams for the team high. A total of six different Urban Knights tallied steals, five of which recorded multiple swipes to help the Knights end with 16 as a unit, which is tied for their second-most in a game this season (three off season high). 

Prior to the contest, the Urban Knights honored the ART U careers of five student-athletes that have left an indelible mark on the ART U men's basketball program, even if for only this season. The night began with ART U celebrating the group of senior guard Klay Brown, senior forward Mike Asante, graduate student guard Deang Deang, graduate student guard Will Balata, and graduate student guard Stephon Hall, all of whom have either been a part of ART U's first ever PacWest Tournament title or the best regular season ART U record in program history. 

It will be a short turnaround for ART U, as they return to the court on Saturday, Feb. 25 to battle against Dominican in the regular season finale beginning at 3:30 p.m.