GAME #16
ART U (5-10, 3-5 PWC) vs. Point Loma (3-13, 0-8 PWC)
January 31, 2013 at 7:30PM
San Diego, CA -- Golden Gymnasium
GAME #17
ART U (5-10, 3-5 PWC) vs. California Baptist (10-6, 4-4 PWC)
February 2, 2013 at 7:30PM
Riverside, CA -- Van Dyne Gym
GAME #18
ART U (5-10, 3-5 PWC) vs. Azusa Pacific (6-9, 3-4 PWC)
February 4, 2013 at 7:30 PM
Azusa, CA -- Felix Event Center
TIPPING OFF
The Urban Knights continued a stretch of impressive play, earning a split last week against Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade. The Knights blasted the Sea Warriors, defeating HPU 86-56, but then were slowed down by the Silverswords, dropping their first home contest by a score of 95-83. ART U now heads to Southern California for a three-game swing against two of the three new additions to the conference.
SEVEN UNLUCKY FOR SEA LIONS
Heading into the Urban Knights road trip, the Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions have dropped seven straight games, with their last win coming against Pacifica College back on December 29. The Sea Lions are in the lower third of the conference in scoring, with Todd Campbell leading the way with 7.9 points per game. AJ Ussery broke the 100-rebound plateau recently, and is averaging 6.6 rebounds per contest, good for 10th in the conference.
TERRIFIC TRIO MAKE FANTASTIC 15
Alex Carmon,
Bryan Fisher, and
Ameer Shamsud-din averaged a combined 55.5 points per game last week for the Urban Knights, leading to the trio's selection to the PacWest Weekly Fantastic 15. All three are now averaging in double figures in scoring for the season after Fisher had 20 points against Chaminade. It was Shamsud-din's sixth selection this year (16th career), while Carmon made his fifth appearance and Fisher made his second.
CBU CRASHING THE BOARDS
The California Baptist men's basketball team boasts the second-best rebounding margin in the conference, averaging 5.6 more rebounds per game than their opponents and pulling down 38.9 boards per game. The Lancers have four players averaging at least five rebounds per contest, with Andrew Fisk (7.3) and Luke Evans (6.4) leading the way. CBU also has the most blocks per game in the conference (5.1 per game), and rebounded from two losses against Dixie State and Grand Canyon with a convincing 87-56 victory over Holy Names on Monday.
PREMA NEARING CAREER MARKS
Senior guard
Ivan "B.J." Prema, Jr. has been a part of the Urban Knights for four years, and has blossomed this year in the role of defensive catalyst, with head coach
Julius Barnes calling him an "unsung hero" on this year's team. Prema finds himself ranked on many of the ART U career leader boards, including the sixth-most points in program history (555), the second-most three-pointers (73), and the fourth-most rebounds (265). He also recently passed the 100-assist plateau, putting him in fourth place overall, while he is only one steal away from the top spot of 76 takeaways. Prema will most likely reach the 100-game mark, which only
Hunter Hayden has done before him, and is on track to pass Hayden in career minutes played, as he sits only 107 minutes behind Hayden's mark with ten games left to play.
AZUSA PACIFIC HOT FROM OUTSIDE
The Cougars are the last new team that the Knights will face on the road trip, and much like Hawaii Pacific, ART U will have to contend with a team that shoots a lot from the outside. APU has lost four straight, but still boast two of the top-11 scorers in the league in Troy Leaf and B.J. Porter. The Cougars are making the second-most three-pointers per game behind Chaminade, nailing an average of 8.2 triples per contest. Porter (3.2 per game) and Leaf (2.3 per game) make up more than half of that total, as both 6'3 guards give the Urban Knights a good challenge for their own hot-handed backcourt of Carmon and Shamsud-din.
ON THE REBOUND
After the Knights face their SoCal opponents, they'll return home for a lengthy home stand of five games, starting with a face-off against Dixie State (Feb. 9) at Kezar Pavilion.
