BELMONT, Calif.-Saturday's yo-yo game in Belmont featured 13 late lead changes, but the Urban Knights (3-4, 1-0 PacWest) came away with a decisive 66-56 victory over the Notre Dame de Namur Argonauts (0-7, 0-1 PacWest).
 
ART U was fighting an early uphill battle as NDNU made the game's first bucket and was leading 12-5 after six and a half minutes had expired in the first half. The Urban Knights fought back however and were able to tie the score at 14 with 10:35 on the clock and took a 17-14 advantage when freshman guard Cobe Williams landed his second 3-pointer of the game. The lead would change three more times before the half was over, but ART U would keep it close.
 
Trailing by four with the final three seconds in the first half ticking off of the clock, the Urban Knights junior guard Chris Salas took the ball; he ran down the court and made a desperation heave from just in front of half-court and sunk a 3-pointer as the buzzer was sounding. This made the score 31-30 as both teams headed to the locker room.
 
Salas' buzzerbeater capped off a perfect, 15-point first half. The sophomore was 6-for-6 overall, 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, and added four rebounds. Williams also had a flawless half (six points), knocking down two-of-two shots, both from downtown.
 
Looking to take control in the second half, sophomore guard Uchenna Okeneme made a contested layup for the first play which gave ART U a one-point advantage. However, the Argonauts quickly retook the lead and would stay in front until 11:50 remained. This is when the narrative changed.
 
After not being awarded any free throws in the game's first 31 minutes, sophomore guard Jase Harrison took the Urban Knights' first two penalty shots with 9:17 left in the second half. In fact, within the next four minutes, ART U would take eight more which gave them a 52-46 lead and a 7-0 run led by four points from Harrison.
 
The Academy of Art continued to distance themselves from NDNU in the final minutes and led by 10 points as time expired.

Head coach Julius credited the win with being able to "increase intensity on the defensive end," also adding that when they "were able to string together stops, it created opportunites...offensively and the guys were able to capitalize."

There were three Urban Knights who ended the game with double-digit points. Salas came close to a double-double, posting his second-highest point total of the season (18, 7-for-9) and seven rebounds. Harrison had 12 points (4-for-7) and six rebounds, and junior guard Herman Pratt IV added 12 points as well.

"[Salas] has been very consistent for us this year," Barnes said. "He can impact the game in a variety of different ways and has a knack for making big plays. His hot hand in first half helped keep us within striking distance and his contributions on defense deserve some praise as well."

As a team, ART U scored 15 points off of the Argos' 15 turnovers. Lastly, the contrast between the two benches made a big difference in Saturday's game: ART U's bench scored 32 total points compared to NDNU's three points off the bench.
 
The Argonauts' main standout was Tre'Shawn King-Dunbar who had 22 points, but Korey Serna also contributed 15 points and nine rebounds.
 
On Saturday, December 12, both the men's and women's basketball teams will head to Fresno, Calif. to continue their PacWest portion of the season, taking on the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds. The men will tipoff against the 4-1, 0-0 PacWest squad at 4:30 p.m., following the women at 2:30 p.m.

Barnes concluded by iterating that "preparation during the week will be crucial as [they] prepare for Fresno Pacific and the different set of challenges that they present."