Box Score
San Francisco, Calif. (12/12/08) -- A pair of career-highs could not help secure Academy of Art University's first win against Cal State Monterey Bay as the Urban Knights lost the rematch, 78-85. In the first of two games in the SF State Invitational, freshman point guard Marqus Crawford turned in a 20-point afternoon and sophomore guard Phillip Samuel finished with 18 points to reflect the two best scoring performances by either player this season.
Neither team was able to score for the first two minutes of the game until Crawford got into the paint for a layup with 17:39 on the clock. AAU had built a six point advantage following a layup by freshman forward Hunter Hayden, but eventually a 3-pointer by Keith Wilson cut the lead to one and another trey later, the Otters were in front. CSUMB's 25-7 surge culminated in the third foul on Hayden and eventually his ejection from the game by the officials.
Academy of Art University was able to stay close with numerous trips to the free throw line and even though the Knights were down by 10 with under a minute left, sophomore guard Dominique Smith nailed a 3-pointer with 33 seconds on the clock. And, with one second remaining in the first half, Samuel knocked down another trey to bring AAU within six points as the score favored CSUMB 39-45 going into the intermission.
The Urban Knights allowed Cal State Monterey Bay to go on a 23-13 run to open the second period, earning the opponents a 15 point lead, but then the Otters' outside shooting began to cool down and Academy of Art University would not go away.
A critical fourth foul was charged to Samuel with 10:36 left in the game, forcing him out of the game soon afterward. With just under eight minutes remaining, sophomore point guard Weleh Dennis dished off one of his career-high five assists to junior guard J.R. Cassita who nailed a 3-pointer. The very next possession, the Otters' Steve Monreal answered with a three of his own to put CSUMB back up by 12, but Dennis wasn't finished as he halved the lead with back-to-back 3-pointers in response.
Academy of Art University trailed by only four points with 5:22 on the clock and would even cut the Otter advantage to one point on two separate occasions with a long ball by Cassita and then free throws by Crawford, but the Urban Knights were never able to take their own lead.
After being forced to play the foul game with CSUMB, a rare four-point play by Dennis with 40 seconds left made the score 78-82 with Academy of Art University behind by just four. Unfortunately, that was the closest AAU would come.
Crawford earned the majority of his points at the foul line where he was 10-of-12. Dennis filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in the game. Cassita hit four 3-pointers, the most he has made this season, in addition to his three rebounds and three assists.
Cal State Monterey Bay was led by the shooting of Jose Sanchez who posted 16 first half points and finished with 21 points (including 4-for-9 from outside the arc). Monreal, the Otters' leading scorer, shot poorly in the first half, but turned things around in the second and finished with 18 points. Joe Mitchell had a double-double in the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Academy of Art University's overall record now stands at 0-7 while CSUMB remains a perfect 7-0.
The Urban Knights will play one more game in the SF State Invitational against host San Francisco State University (7-1) who had its seven-game win streak snapped against Concordia Irvine on Friday. The tip-off for this contest is scheduled for Saturday (12/13/08) at 7:30PM.
