GAME #16
AAU Urban Knights (0-15, 0-5) vs. HPU Sea Warriors (14-4, 6-1)
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Kaneohe, HI – Neal S. Blaisdell Center

GAME #17
AAU Urban Knights (0-15, 0-5) vs. Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans (10-7, 4-3)
Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Hilo, HI – UHH Gymnasium

GAME #18
AAU Urban Knights (0-15, 0-5) vs. BYU-Hawaii Seasiders (8-5, 2-2)
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Laie, HI – Cannon Activities Center

GAME #19
AAU Urban Knights (0-15, 0-5) vs. Chaminade Silverswords (5-8, 2-2)
Friday, Feb. 5, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Honolulu, HI – McCabe Gymnasium

Game Notes (includes career/season-highs)


URBAN KNIGHTS FACE FOUR HAWAIIAN TEAMS ON TRIP:
Starting Jan. 30, the Academy of Art University men's basketball team will  compete against all four Pacific West Conference teams based in Hawaii. Rematches against Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii-Hilo kick off the four-game stretch followed by meetings with BYU-Hawaii on Wednesday (Feb. 3) and Chaminade on Friday (Feb. 5).

OPENING TIP:
AAU will first be on Oahu (Kaneohe, HI) when it faces Hawaii Pacific on Jan. 30 inside the Sea Warriors' Neal S. Blaisdell Center. The Big Island (Hilo, HI) is the next stop for Academy of Art with a rematch versus Hawaii-Hilo coming on Feb. 1 in the UHH Gymnasium. Two days later on Feb. 3, the Knights will be back on Oahu (Laie, HI) for a matchup against BYU-Hawaii in the Cannon Activities Center. Check out http://www.byutv.org/ for live video of this game. The trip concludes on Oahu (Honolulu, HI) versus Chaminade on Feb. 5 inside McCabe Gymnasium. Live stats can be found here. All games are scheduled to begin at 9:30 PM PST on the mainland or at 7:30 PM HST in the various Hawaii locations.

SCOUTING THE SEA WARRIORS:
When the Urban Knights met HPU in San Francisco back on Jan. 7, the Sea Warriors stood atop the PacWest and while AAU fell 80-69, the game was very close. Academy of Art was down by just three at halftime and even took a three-point lead in the second half, but when Hawaii Pacific prevailed, the contest would become one of a 10-game win streak for HPU. To this point, the Sea Warriors have sustained just one conference loss, an 89-88 result versus BYU-Hawaii on Jan. 23. Two days later, HPU edged out Hawaii Hilo 103-99 in overtime. Forward C.J. Jackson, who leads the PacWest in rebounding (12.7 rpg), posted a season-high 33 points and 15 rebounds in that victory. Hawaii Pacific also carries the conference's leading scorer, forward Mike Helton, who averages 20.8 points per game.

SCOUTING THE VULCANS:
Hawaii-Hilo took a four-game win streak into the beginning of PacWest play and added to that run with victories against the three Bay Area teams. AAU and UHH opened their conference season against each other on Jan. 5 and the result was the Vulcans taking a 73-60 win. Since returning to Hawaii, Hilo has had a tougher time getting the victory. After the 103-99 overtime loss to HPU on Jan. 25, the Vulcans are now on a three-game losing streak. Guard Bryan Ngo, who scored a game-high 22 points against AAU, achieved a season-high 28 points in the recent contest against HPU.

SCOUTING THE SEASIDERS:
Ranked number one in not only the Pacific West Conference but also the entire NCAA Division II at the beginning of the year, BYU-Hawaii has had to battle through a host of significant injuries this season. Forward Lucas Alves, who was the PacWest Player of the Year in 2009, missed the first eight games of the year and has eased back into playing thus far (he averages 17.6 minutes and 7.2 points per game). Another victim of the injury bug was PacWest Freshman of the Year Tsung-Hsien “Jet” Chang who had been averaging 20.8 points per game prior to going down in a 92-77 victory over HPU on Dec. 11. He has not played in a game since then. The Seasiders began their conference season with four out of five road games and currently sport a 2-2 record after falling to Dixie State 86-78 on Jan. 7 and dropping an 87-86 result to Hawaii-Hilo on Jan. 16.

SCOUTING THE SILVERSWORDS:
Chaminade University may have opened the season with three losses while hosting the EA Sports Maui Invitational, but the Silverswords pulled off an impressive 87-81 non-conference win over BYU-Hawaii on Dec. 12. Chaminade is currently 2-2 in the standings with victories against Grand Canyon and Hawaii-Hilo along with losses to Dixie State and Hawaii Pacific. Guard Steve Bennett has been on fire since the beginning of league play and in a 103-94 loss to Hawaii Pacific on Jan. 14, he even unloaded 37 points, the most scored by any player in the PacWest thus far. Bennett paces the Silverswords with an average of 18.9 points per game while guard Chandler Pearson puts up a double-double nearly every night with 9.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

DOMINICAN DEFEATS URBAN KNIGHTS 82-62:
This past Saturday night (Jan. 23) at Kezar Pavilion, Academy of Art University men's basketball could not triumph against the visiting Dominican University Penguins and fell 82-62. The game saw five ties before DUC opened up a 40-29 advantage at halftime by way of a 15-4 run. While both teams shot nearly 50 percent in the first half, but 14 made free throws by the Penguins spelled the difference. The Knights got the lead down to 10 points twice in the second half, but Dominican used another late-game run to pull away. Junior guard Lance Olivier improved on his previous season-high with 13 points to go with three rebounds and two assists while junior guard Phillip Samuel added 11 points (5-of-5 from the free throw line).

LOOKING AHEAD:
When AAU returns from its Hawaii roadtrip, the Knights will be welcomed back with their Homecoming Week in which they play Notre Dame de Namur on Feb. 13. The game and evening's festivities will take place at Kezar Pavilion. Be sure to check www.academyartathletics.com in the coming days for more details!