SAN FRANCISCO-It was a deluge of emotions on Tuesday night as the Urban Knights (2-3, 0-0 PacWest) fell to the No. 8 Chico State Wildcats (3-0, 0-0 CCAA) 81-67.
 
The first half got off to a rocky start for the Academy of Art as they quickly fell behind. However, the use of effective defense kept the Knights in the mix and they were only down by nine at the half (40-31). 

In the second half, ART U took to the floor with a renewed sense of purpose. After trailing by 15, one could feel the momentum start to shift in the arena. The Urban Knights' bench became loud as the team began to string together several baskets. Feeding off of the energy, the crowd's noise began to rise, ultimately silencing the Wildcats' bench and shutting down the team long enough to trim the lead to seven points. In the last few minutes however, the Wildcats were able to slow down ART U's run and pull away for good.

 
The Academy of Art's effort was led by several key players. Junior guard Herman Pratt IV recorded a team-high 16 points, contributed four rebounds and five steals (one shy of the program record). Redshirt junior guard Sergio Valdeolmillos tied his career-high with 15 points, while going 3-for-4 in three-point attempts. Freshman guard Cobe Williams had a big night on the court, posting a career high 10 points along with four assists.
 
Chico State's biggest contributor was Robert Duncan who scored 29 overall points, was 4-for-4 in triples, and added four rebounds and assists. The Wildcats posted a .591 field goal percentage and shot 3-pointers at a .503 clip.
 
The Urban Knights will not be participating in any games during the Thanksgiving Holiday, but will return to Kezar on Saturday, November 28 to face off with San Francisco State at 3 p.m. The Gators took the teams' first meeting earlierthis season (72-53) in the Ron Logsdon Basketball Classic last weekend.