GAME #18
ART U (3-14, 1-6 PWC) vs. BYU-Hawaii (7-6, 4-0 PWC)
January 21, 2012 at 7:00 PM
San Francisco, CA -- Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats
Live Audio
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GAME #19
ART U (3-14, 1-6 PWC) vs. Chaminade (6-5, 4-0 PWC)
January 23, 2012 at 7:00 PM
San Francisco, CA -- Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats
Live Audio
Twitter Updates
TIPPING OFF
The Urban Knights had a couple tough games in Hawaii, constantly battling back in the second half and finally getting their first ever victory on the islands with an impressive 76-68 win over Hawaii Pacific. PacWest Top 10 Honor Roll selection William Overton, Jr. averaged 17.8 points per game on the trip, and Ameer Shamsud-din averaged 16.6 points per contest to lead the way for the Knights. The Knights averaged 69.2 points per game on the trip.
HOT WEATHER, HOT SHOOTING
The Urban Knights continued to get the ball in the bucket at an alarming pace this season, as they are a couple impressive games away from setting a new single-season scoring record. After the game against HPU, the Knights are putting up an average of 65.8 points per game, and 68.6 points per contest in PacWest play. The program mark was set last season, as the Knights scored 66.6 points per game. They also have 15 games with 60+ points, eight games with 70+, three games with 80+, and one game with over 90 points this season.
WELCOME TO THE MAINLAND
After facing off against BYU-Hawaii on Jan. 14, the Urban Knights will have a rematch with the Seasiders a week later. The Knights bridged halftime with a 22-5 run to briefly take the lead, but BYU-Hawaii took control on their home court to pull away late. The Urban Knights contained Seasiders star Jet Chang, only allowing the shooter 12 points on 33% of his attempts, but had trouble with Bracken Funk (18 pts, 8 rebs) and Junior Ale (16 pts, 15 rebs).
RUN FOR YOUR MONEY
In each game of the Hawaii road trip, the Urban Knights were able to put together an impressive run to shift momentum back in their favor. The 22-5 stretch against BYU-Hawaii was mentioned above. Against Hawaii Hilo, it was a 17-4 run to open the second half. Against Chaminade, ART U successfully executed a stretch of 19 unanswered points. And in their win against HPU, the Urban Knights had a 20-10 run out of the locker room to put them on top for good.
CHASING DOWN CHAMINADE
The Silverswords, who finished tied for first place in the PacWest last season, find themselves back on top of the conference this year, tied for first with Cal Baptist and BYU-Hawaii. The Knights were fueled by their 19-0 run but had their upset bid thwarted last week, but will host Matt Cousins and the Swords at Kezar Pavilion with an eye on toppling them from their first-place perch. Cousins had 20 points and six rebounds, and was followed by Lee Bailey, who dropped 19 points. Rickey Clayborn (13pts), Darko Vukasovic (12pts), and Waly Coulibaly (11pts) also broke into double figures for the Silverswords.
PREMA ON MILESTONE WATCH
With much of the focus this year on senior Hunter Hayden's many milestones, Ivan "B.J." Prema, Jr.'s march to the top of the Academy of Art record books has gone for the most part unheralded. Prema has proved his worth as the most accurate free throw shooter in program history and continues to have a healthy hold on that category, with a career mark of 84.5%. He is also only three 3-point field goals away from the all-time record of 63, set by Weleh Dennis in 2010, and is within reach of 200 rebounds by the end of the season.
BACK IN THE FRIENDLY CONFINES
The Urban Knights will be back in Kezar Pavilion after the grueling road trip in Hawaii, playing their next three games at home and next five games in the Bay Area. ART U takes on BYUH and Chaminade before hosting Dominican, heading to Belmont to play Notre Dame de Namur, and then visiting the Penguins across the bridge in San Rafael.
