GAME #1
ART U (0-0) v. Seattle Pacific Falcons (0-0)
November 9, 2012 at 7:00 PM
Seattle, WA -- Brougham Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video

GAME #2
ART U (0-0) v. Central Washington Wildcats (0-0)
November 10, 2012 at 3:00 PM
Seattle, WA -- Brougham Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video

TIPPING OFF
The Urban Knights are ready to start a new season of Academy of Art basketball, showing off eight new players in their season openers at the Sodexo Tipoff Classic in Seattle. The Knights fell to Division I San Jose State in their only exhibition match of the season last week, but got a chance to see Rodrigo Maza (14 pts), Akil Johnson (10 rebs), and Alex Carmon (12 pts) in action for the first time. This weekend they'll head north to Seattle for their first tournament of the season.

SHAMSUD-DIN RECOGNIZED BY CONFERENCE
After receiving an All-PacWest Honorable Mention following last season, senior guard Ameer Shamsud-din was honored again, making the Preseason All-PacWest team, it was announced Thursday by the PacWest offices. Shamsud-din finished the year second in the PacWest in scoring, averaging 16.7 points per game. On the way, he set the Academy of Art single-season scoring record with 466 points, and set the mark for three-pointers in a single season, making 55 baskets from beyond the arc.

FALCONS FEELING THE LOVE FROM NCAA
Seattle Pacific begins the regular season ranked No. 9 in the Division II Coaches Poll, and showed why in their exhibition games, taking down Pacific Lutheran 72-48 last week. The Falcons posted a 23-8 record last year, and are picked to finish first in the GNAC this year. They will also return four starters and the top four scorers from last year's team, including First Team All-GNAC members David Downs (15.6 ppg, 113 ast) and Andy Poling (15.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg).

ENTERING THE 500 CLUB
Guard Ivan "B.J" Prema (477), Shamsud-din (466), and point guard Czar Robotham (450), are all on the brink of becoming the fourth, fifth, and sixth members of the Urban Knights to score over 500 career points. They would join Will Overton, Jr., assistant coach Phil Samuel, and Hunter Hayden in that regard, and all three are well within reach of accomplishing that feat early on this season. Robotham is also approaching 200 assists as the season starts, sitting at 182 so far.

WILDCATS WANTING TO WIN IN WASHINGTON
Central Washington is coming off a 15-13 season last year in which they struggled in conference play, but are looking to return to their 26-4 standing from 2010-11. The Wildcats are led by returner Jordan Coby, who averaged 11.1 ppg last season, and junior Mark McLaughlin, who scored 28 points in his Central Washington debut against Division I Idaho. This is the second time the two schools have played each other, the last time way back in 2009.

ON THE REBOUND
The Urban Knights will return to San Francisco for their home opener against Cal State East Bay on Nov. 17 at Kezar Pavilion as part of the Urban Knights Tipoff Weekend. They will also play Cal State Dominguez Hills on Nov. 23 and Northwest Nazarene on Nov. 24 as part of the Grand Canyon Thanksgiving Holiday Classic.