Game #12
ART U Urban Knights (7-4, 3-1 PacWest) at Biola Eagles (9-3, 3-1 PacWest)
Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
La Mirada, Calif. – Chase Gymnasium
Live Stats | Live Video

Game #13
ART U Urban Knights (7-4, 3-1 PacWest) at PLNU Sea Lions (10-4, 3-1 PacWest)
Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 at 4 p.m. 
San Diego – Golden Gymnasium
Live Stats | Live Video

STARTING 2025 IN SOCAL
Coming off two wins to currently share a piece of the Pacific West Conference lead heading into 2025, Academy of Art men's basketball looks to keep the momentum going as they will face off in their only contest against Biola this regular season while another battle with Point Loma follows thereafter.

TIP-OFF
Thursday's contest with the Eagles will commence at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday's meeting with the Sea Lions is scheduled to get underway at 4 p.m. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram, as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Senior forward Quintin Metcalf showed out for the best month of his ART U career in December, securing two PacWest Player of the Week awards on both Dec. 2 and Dec. 23. For the most recent, Metcalf led his team into the joint-tie with four other teams after the squad's triumph against Chaminade on Dec. 21, where the native of Wurzburg, Germany scored his season-high 23 points, while he went 7-for-9 from the field (.778) and totaled a career-high five blocks. After leading his team last season over Biola, Metcalf will look to do it once again in a big game for the PacWest standings.

Although ART U has seen recent success with their back-to-back wins, it hasn't just been at the hands of Metcalf, as four other Knights were seen scoring in the double-digits against the Silverswords in the team's most recent contest. Senior guard Rodney Munson was next up with 16 points to continue the best season of his ART U career thus far, with junior forward Robbie Armbrester showing out recently with his flashy plays, averaging 12.0 points per game over the last two contests in addition to both 2.5 blocks and 2.5 steals a game as well. ART U has shown that points can come from any angle as well recently as senior guard Treylon Payne, senior forward Isaiah Williams, redshirt junior guard Donovan Vickers, and junior guard Bryce Moore all scored eight points or higher against Chaminade most recently. 

The Knights will look to stay competitive defensively headed into the matchups, as their conference-leading 4.18 blocks per game (led by Metcalf's fourth-place individual ranking) has forced their opponents to be wary of their shot selection. 

BLITZING BIOLA
Preparing to compete with another 3-1 team in conference play, ART U will face a Biola squad that has gone 1-2 in their last three matchups after they held a six-game win streak. Sharing nearly an identical scoring margin compared to the Knights (6.7-6.5), the Eagles are a team ART U wants to keep off the charity stripe as BU holds the best percentage among their PacWest competitors (.787). Davian Brown, the conference leader in free throw percentage (.973), and Casey Cappo are the duo to watch out for as well when it comes to getting buckets to drop, as their pair shares the team lead in points per game, eaching holding an average of 13.3, while Nathan Medina hangs right there with them with an average of 12.7. Cappo is seen down on the blocks as well getting the most boards on the team, collecting 6.7 per contest. ART U and Biola share a rich and competitive history, with the Knights leading the all-time matchup 6-5 as they took the lead in the pair's most recent contest last season on Feb. 29.

SWIMMING WITH THE SEA LIONS
ART U and PLNU will compete once again this regular season after the latter got the better of the Knights the first time around on Dec. 7, where the contest was decided in the final minutes which resulted in a 58-53 final score. In the previous matchup, Academy of Art saw themselves down by double-digits before the half, but brought it back to a one-point difference down the stretch in the second frame before the Sea Lions snuck away for the conference win. Tyce Paulsen and Zack Paulsen were the duo that scored double-digits to lift their team to a victory, while Munson did all he could for ART U with the game-high in points (21). While Tyce Paulsen led his team in that game, Zack Paulsen has been all season long with 14.2 points per game, while Luke Haupt is right behind with 14.1. ART U will look to split the regular season series as they also see PLNU leading the all-time series 18-5.

ART U TAKES DOWN FORMER PACWEST LEADER IN CHAMINADE 93-74
Battling against what had been the top team in the PacWest standings coming into the afternoon of Dec. 21, Academy of Art men's basketball proved they would be the better team by night's end as they cruised past the Silverswords with a 93-74 final score.

LOOKING AHEAD
After the first games of 2025, ART U will follow them up with back-to-back battles with Jessup as they'll compete in a pair splitting between a home and away contest on Jan. 8 and Jan. 18.