Box Score
St. George, UT- The Academy of Art University (0-24, 0-14 PacWest) scored a season high 77 points Saturday, but it was not enough against PacWest leading, Dixie State University of Utah (18-5, 12-2 PacWest). Juniors
Phillip Samuel and
Jonathan Burnett each recorded 17 points, combining for 12-of-19 from floor as the Urban Knights fell 88-77.
AAU started strong jumping out to a seven point lead as they went on an 11-0 run. On the offensive end, the Urban Knights hit 50 percent of their shots including 33 percent from the three. On defense, they out rebounded the Red Storm 21-16 and blocked five shots. Despite their success, the lead slipped away as AAU got into early foul trouble, and they ended the half down, 37-29.
The second half also began well for the Urban Knights. Junior Lance Olivier capped off a 14-3 run with a jumper to give AAU a two point lead less than four minutes into the half. The team hit 16-of-34 shots and 40 percent from deep, but for the second game in a row, fouls hurt the Knights. They sent the Red Storm to the foul line 47 times compared to their 21 trips, and had four starters foul out of the game. Dixie State capitalized and outscored AAU 51-48 in the second half.
The Urban Knights finished the game shooting an impressive 48 percent from the floor while they held the Red Storm to 36 percent. Guard Olivier played a big role in the success of the offense. He finished with 11 points, four assists and four rebounds. Samuel, AAU's leading scorer, hit 4-of-6 shots from three point range and grabbed two rebounds in his 22 minutes on the floor.
Off the bench, Burnett added a team high 11 rebounds, including five on offense, to his 17 points. Freshman Ivan Prema, Jr. scored nine points and two steals for the Urban Knights.
The Red Storm was led by Andy Palmer with 24 points. Palmer was 7-of-11 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the free throw line. Zach Robbins notched 18 points and tallied a game high 17 rebounds.
This game concluded the road portion of the season for AAU. They will return home to take on Chaminade University on March 2nd. The game is set for 7:30 p.m. at UCSF.
