Box Score

Oakland, CA – Following a stellar first half in which the Urban Knights shot over 50 percent from the floor, Academy of Art University men's basketball could not hold on against Holy Names Thursday evening. The Hawks used a late second half run to take the 96-82 victory inside Tobin Gymnasium as part of the HNU New Year's Classic.

ART U was looking to find the open man early on and junior center Hunter Hayden became the benefactor from that approach. He scored two layups in the opening two minutes, as the first four Knights' baskets were all assisted; two by freshman forward William Overton, Jr. and two by freshman guard Czar Robotham. Holy Names tried to gain some separation with an 8-4 run, but a 3-pointer from Overton, Jr. sparked a 12-4 Academy of Art rebuttal that eventually tied the game, 26-26. Sophomore guard Ivan "B.J." Prema, Jr. had five points during the burst.

The teams stayed close to one another from that point on with active buckets inside by senior forward Jonathan Burnett. As the Hawks again flirted with a larger lead, Overton, Jr. answered back with two consecutive 3-pointers, the second of which came on a fast break and gave ART U a 42-41 advantage with 2:23 left. Academy of Art did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the period, leading 47-45 at halftime. Robotham had six of his final eight assists by that point.

“[Czar] does a good job of moving the ball and getting people involved,” Head Coach Mark Sembrowich said. “He's got really good speed with it and it helps that he can shoot it a little bit so you can't really play off him. I think he has a long way to go, but I was pleased with the beginning and we're going to keep working him in. For right now, this is good.”

In the second half, ART U and HNU battled through five more ties before the Knights briefly took the lead on a layup by sophomore center Mike Jorritsma off another assist from Robotham. The Hawks responded by establishing a five point advantage, but Academy of Art would soon erase it with a 5-0 run that featured a three-point play by junior forward Keith Davis. From there, Holy Names used a 16-3 push to permanently retake the lead and eventually the victory.

Overton, Jr. finished the game with 16 points, including a 3-of-6 night from long range, to lead the Urban Knights. The freshman forward showed his versatility with four rebounds, four assists, and four steals as well. The double-double,14 points and 10 rebounds, by Hayden was his first of the season, and Davis contributed 14 points of his own. In his first start of the season, Robotham finished the game with a season-high 12 points, eight assists (the most by any ART U player this season), and four steals. A total of 10 different Knights registered points in the game, as Academy of Art's bench out-scored HNU 24-18.

The top scorer for Holy Names was forward David Scott who had a game-high 28 points to go with 12 rebounds. Forward Joshua Smith supported his teammate with 19 points and nine rebounds. With the conclusion of its New Year's Classic, Holy Names now stands at 9-8 overall.

Academy of Art University men's basketball has now completed its non-conference season with a 3-7 overall record. ART U will begin with PacWest play in early January, starting with a four-game roadtrip in Hawaii where the Knights will encounter Hawaii-Hilo (Jan. 6), Chaminade (Jan. 8), BYU-Hawaii (Jan. 10), and Hawaii Pacific (Jan. 12).

“We're 0-0 in conference play,” Coach Sembrowich said. “We need to continue to work to get better, but we need to put this stuff behind us as well.”