SAN FRANCISCO – In a Pacific West Conference rematch against Menlo, Academy of Art men's basketball separated themselves from the Oaks down the stretch and ultimately took down their new conference rival with a 84-72 final score.

"This afternoon's game was a testament to our gritty nature," said Head Coach Scott Waterman. "We didn't play our best but came out with a win. Obviously, we still need to put longer stretches of good play together, but we show that when we play ART U basketball and stick to our principles good things happen. We forced 22 turnovers and had 20 points in transition which swung the game in our favor. There's no time to rest with Santa Cruz on Tuesday and more PacWest games ahead."

Building up an eight-point lead early in the opening frame, the Urban Knights were forced to battle in a competitive first half after the Oaks managed to keep the contest no more than a five-point game for both sides for the back half of the first 20 minutes. Before the first buzzer, eight members of ART U already scored at least one bucket as senior forward Isaiah Williams led his squad with 12 while racking up four steals before halftime.

Struggling to create at least a three-score game for the first 10 minutes, the Knights weren't able to shake the Oaks until pushing a nine-point lead with seven minutes to go. Menlo once again managed to erase one of the largest deficits they faced in the contest to get within two points, but a double-digit run for the Knights followed, created by back-to-back triples from senior guard Rodney Munson and Williams and eight-straight free throws from a supporting cast. The Oaks finally had no answer to the strong offensive performance down the stretch from ART U as the game finished out with its 84-72 final score.

Academy of Art improved to 14-7 overall and 10-4 in PacWest play with the victory while increasing its home record to 8-1. While Williams secured a tie for his career-high in points (26), redshirt junior guard Donovan Vickers (18), junior forward Robbie Armbrester (12), and Munson (10) joined in double-digit scoring. Nick Davidson did all he could for the Oaks, now 9-14 on the season and 5-10 in conference games, scoring 21 points while going 5-for-6 from three-point range.

Playing in a non-conference matchup next week on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m., ART U will take on UC Santa Cruz before playing host to Westmont thereafter.