FRESNO, CALIF. – 10 ties, nine lead changes. These two statistics perfectly epitomize Thursday's back-and-forth PacWest opener against Fresno Pacific (1-5, 1-0 PacWest). Although Academy of Art men's basketball (1-6, 0-1 PacWest) trailed by as little as two points with 12 seconds remaining, they could not overcome the Sunbirds in the final moments, ultimately falling 81-77.
 
ART U got out to an early, 6-2 lead to open up the contest, but FPU responded with 11 unanswered points to take a 13-6 lead at the first timeout. However, the Urban Knights roared back to take control of the game in the following minutes: Academy of Art jumped on the back of junior guard Kendall Brown who went 4-for-5, including 3-for-4 from three-point land. The Corona, Calif. native's 14 points set a career-high for most points in a single half. Senior guard Herman Pratt IV also put together an impressive opening period, going 3-for-3 from the field for six points.
 
The Urban Knights began the second half tied with the Sundbirds 38-all and immediately scored five unanswered points. ART U would maintain their lead for the next 4:08, but that was the longest amount of time that either side would hold a lead in the second period. Both teams continued to exchange leads and the Knights held the lead with as little as 3:49 remaining in the contest. FPU jumped out in front again, but Academy of Art held on, never allowing their deficit to rise above six points in the closing minutes. With 16 seconds remaining, Fresno took a five-point lead, but junior guard Uchenna Okeneme drove to the basket to complete a contested layup. After making the subsequent free throw, ART U only trailed by two points (79-77) with a mere 12 seconds on the clock. The Urban Knights immediately fouled the Sunbirds to force free throws, but FPU made both to reach the final score of 81-77.
 
Brown continued his career-night, finishing the contest with a career-best 22 points along with six rebounds. Pratt scored the team's second-most points (15) while collecting six rebounds of his own. It was the San Francisco native's highest point total since scoring 16 on November 24, 2015 against Chico State. Besides their top two players, ART U's bench continued to play a big factor in the contest, scoring over half of their overall points (42).
 
Academy of Art will now return to San Francisco to prepare for Monday's home opener when they will take on the Seasiders of BYU-Hawaii at 7:30 p.m.