GAME #12
Academy of Art (3-8, 1-4 PacWest) at No. 11 California Baptist (11-1, 5-0 PacWest)
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 – 7:30 p.m. PST
Riverside, Calif. – Van Dyne Gym
LIVE VIDEO/STATS
 
GAME #13
Academy of Art (3-8, 1-4 PacWest) at No. 14 Azusa Pacific (13-1, 6-0 PacWest)
Monday, Jan. 12, 2015 – 7:30 p.m.
Azusa, Calif. – Felix Event Center
LIVE VIDEO/STATS
 
GAME #14
Academy of Art (3-8, 1-4 PacWest) at Point Loma (11-2, 4-2 PacWest)
Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015 – 7:30 p.m.
San Diego – Golden Gymnasium
LIVE VIDEO/STATS
 
SAN FRANCISCO — The first of two three-game road trips this season for the Academy of Art University men's basketball team starts this weekend when it travels to Southern California to face three of the Pacific West Conference's leaders. 
The trip begins for the Urban Knights (3-8, 1-4 PacWest) Saturday night in Riverside when they take on No. 11 California Baptist (11-1, 5-0 PacWest) at Van Dyne Gym. Monday the Knights travel to Azusa to take on No. 14 Azusa Pacific (13-1, 6-0 PacWest) before concluding the trip Wednesday at Point Loma (11-2, 4-2 PacWest) in San Diego. All games tip off at 7:30 p.m.
 
ART U is in the midst of a four-game losing streak which began with back-to-back defeats against then-No. 16 California Baptist (76-74 OT) and then-No. 22 Azusa Pacific (100-75). The Urban Knights combined with their opponent to score over 150 points in three of their last four games. Most recently they fell to Dominican University of California 67-61 on Saturday.
 
ABOUT CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
The No. 11 Lancers (11-1. 5-0 PacWest) have won seven in a row and have only gotten hotter along the way. The streak includes a stretch of four games that CBU won by seven points or less, but its last two wins have been by 27 and 35 points, respectively. The Lancers had to fight off a valiant effort by the Urban Knights on Dec. 16, barely forcing overtime and winning with clutch jumpers in the final seconds.
 
Four players average double figure scoring for CBU, led by Ryan Berg's 15.6 points per game, seventh-best in the conference. Taj Spencer is the team's top rebounder with 5.8 rebounds per game to go with 10.3 ppg. Eric Nelson is third in the PacWest in blocked shots with 17 (1.4 blocks per game). California Baptist is 8-1 at home this season.
 
All-time Series: California Baptist leads 6-0
Last Meeting: Dec. 16, 2014, California Baptist won 76-74 in San Francisco.
 
ABOUT AZUSA PACIFIC
The No. 14 Cougars (13-1, 6-0 PacWest) entered Thursday tied for the nation's fourth-longest winning streak at 12 games, having not lost since Nov. 15 in a three-point overtime defeat at then-No. 19 Cal Poly Pomona. APU has done most of its damage on the road, winning nine games away from Azusa during its streak. Now the Cougars enjoy a stretch of five out of six games at home where they are 3-0 and have won by an average margin of 19.3 points.
 
Troy Leaf continues to be the PacWest's leading scorer at 21.3 ppg. He's also among the conference's top-10 in free-throw shooting (4th, 85.0 percent), 3-point shooting (4th, 40.7 percent), field goal percentage (5th, 52.4 percent), assists (7th, 3.8 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio (7th, +1.7) and steals (t-10th, 1.4 spg). APU's 52.5 team field goal percentage is sixth-best in the country.
 
All-time Series: Azusa Pacific leads 2-1
Last Meeting: Dec. 20, 2014, Azusa Pacific won 100-75 in San Francisco.
 
ABOUT POINT LOMA
The Sea Lions (11-2, 4-2 PacWest) completed a sweep of the Hawaiian Islands Wednesday when they beat Hawaii Hilo 72-68 for their fifth win in a row. It's their second win streak of at least five games this season after they started the year 5-0, including a 62-60 road win over then-No. 16 Cal Poly Pomona. The Sea Lions are receiving votes (9) in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II poll.
 
All five of the Sea Lions' starters are averaging at least 9.1 ppg, with four of them in double digits. PLNU is the PacWest's second-best 3-point shooting team at 43.0 percent. They also limit opponents to 32.7 percent beyond the arc, fourth in the PacWest. Hayden Lescault is second in the PacWest with 4.9 assists per game, helping the team to a 1.27 assist-to-turnover ratio (4th in PacWest).
 
All-time Series: Academy of Art leads 2-1
Last Meeting: Feb. 1, 2014, Point Loma won 83-73 in San Diego.
 
WATCH THOSE MARGINS
The three teams Academy of Art will face on its road trip have made it a regular practice to shut down opposing teams' offenses. Point Loma (1st, 63.4 ppg), California Baptist (2nd, 64.8 ppg) and Azusa Pacific (5th, 70.5 ppg) are all ranked among the PacWest's top-five scoring defenses. For their efforts, all three are also in the conference's top-five for scoring margin, led by the Lancers who average outscoring opponents by 16.3 ppg.
 
PLAYING THEM TIGHT
Academy of Art has been involved in eight games this season decided by 10 points or less. The Urban Knights' record in those games is 2-6, though some of their best performances have come against some of their best opponents. The Knights opened the season with a three-point victory at then-No. 22 Seattle Pacific. They also pushed then-No. 16 California Baptist to overtime on Dec. 16 in a close 76-74 defeat.