Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Rob Garcia)

Hilo, HI -- The Urban Knights have shown their ability in the second half to claw their way back into games, and did so again on Monday night against a tough defensive squad from Hawaii Hilo, dropping the contest 69-62. They continued their solid shooting, posting a 45.1% mark from the field, and were led by Ameer Shamsud-din's 17 points. ART U opened the second half with a 17-4 run and later surged back with an 8-0 push, but the Vulcans managed to pull off the victory.

"I think our team is talented and [early in the second half], I thought we started to do things that let our talent shine through," head coach Mark Sembrowich. "We talked about bringing energy and playing together and I thought we did that to start the second half. And we really cut a 16-point lead down to three rather quickly by doing that; by playing with energy and with guys sharing the ball. That really seemed to work."

After scoring 20 points in the first half, the Knights (2-12, 0-4 PWC) once again found their groove in the second period, outscoring the Vulcans 42 to 33, but it was not enough to make up the initial deficit. The aforementioned 17-4 burst was initiated by aggressive attacks by Academy of Art which resulted in free throws for Noah Koné-Nelson and Shamsud-din. The surge continued with Koné-Nelson finding Ivan "B.J." Prema, Jr. for a jumper, William Overton, Jr., and Czar Robotham draining jumpers. In under four minutes, ART U had rattled off 11 unanswered points.

"We were aggressive and got things going to the basket and I think normally when we've been able to do that, we've found that we have a lot of guys who can score," Coach Sembrowich said. "I think it shows that we can move the ball and different people can help out. We just need to do more of it sooner."

Overton, Jr. and Robotham each stayed hot in the second half and were instrumental in an 8-0 ART U run that cut Hilo's lead to 57-55. Much like the Knights had sparked their offensive at the foul line, Hawaii-Hilo used free throws to slow the pace of the game and ultimately fend off the Academy of Art comeback.

Koné-Nelson had his second straight double-digit scoring night, posting 10 points and six rebounds, and making 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Robotham finished with 12 points and three assists in his return to the lineup, making 4-of-8 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. Overton, Jr. added 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the floor.


Though the Knights battled back from a 16-point deficit, Terrell Mack and his 16 points off the bench allowed Hawaii-Hilo (7-5, 1-3 PWC) to hold on for the win. Fouls caught up with the Knights at the end of the game, as they had Prema, Jr., Aaron Anderson, and Shamsud-din all foul out in the last 90 seconds.

"The combination of talent and playing together is what allowed us to make a comeback, but you have to be able to do that for a complete game," Coach Sembrowich said. "It's not good enough in college to just be able to do it in spurts. You've got to be able to put 40 minutes together and we're still searching for that. We'll get there."

The Urban Knights managed to keep Zachary Wilde in check for the game. Wilde was averaging 12.9 points per game, but was held to only four points and a 20% mark from the field (1-5). Wilde, who also averages 8.5 rebounds per game, was only held to six, as the Knights actually out-rebounded the Vulcans 32 to 31. 

"I thought we did a good job on Wilde, but he's a really good player and we have a lot of respect for him," Coach Sembrowich said. "I think obviously we didn't do as good a job on some other folks as we needed to and, again in that stretch in the second half, we got a lot of stops. We got stop, score, stop and when you start stringing those together, that's how you make runs. You need to play as a unit on both ends of the court, we're plenty capable, and you need to keep working hard to put it all together."

The Knights will have a day off before facing off against Chaminade on Wednesday night.

"All the teams we play on this trip are good, but we're still in a mode where we have to focus on ourselves," Coach Sembrowich said. "I think if we're able to take care of ourselves, we should be able to do well and experience success. The focus really hasn't changed; it's still on us."

GAME NOTES: With Overton's 14 points on Sunday, he now holds the Academy of Art program scoring record at 634 points, surpassing current graduate assistant Phillip Samuel's mark of 626 points set last year.