SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – In their second game in as many days, Academy of Art men's basketball continued their first tournament of the season after
facing SF State in their 2017-18 debut. This time, the Urban Knights took on the likes of Stanislaus State, a team which the program had only faced twice before in ART U's 10-year history. After
defeating the Warriors in overtime almost exactly one year ago, Academy of Art looked to repeat the feat on Saturday afternoon, seeing three Knights reach double-digit points. However, after the score remained within one possession until five minutes into the second half, Stanislaus State managed to pull away in the final minutes for a 10-point, 79-69 victory.
In the first half, ART U got off to a quick start with junior guard Kiel Long hitting a three-pointer for the game's first points. However, the Warriors responded with a pair of unanswered triples to take an early, 3-point lead. Stanislaus held on to their advantage for the majority of the opening period, but the Urban Knights kept them close, never letting the deficit stretch beyond four points. Nonetheless, Academy of Art did take the lead on four occasions including a back-and-forth battle at the 4:12 mark which saw the lead change hands six times before the end of the half. The Urban Knights displayed unselfish-play in the opening 20 minutes as every starter recorded at least one field goal and rebound while seven of ART U's ten players put points on the board.
After trailing 37-34 to enter the second half, the Knights pulled within one point after senior guard
Kendall Brown sunk a pair of free throws to open the period. However, from then on, the Warriors never relinquished the lead and led by as many as 15 points with just over a minute to play. Junior guard Zuri Williams scored his team-leading fourth three-pointer of the night with 1:01 on the clock and Brown put in a layup with 24 seconds remaining, but their 5-0 run was not enough to complete the comeback and Academy of Art was handed their second loss of the season.
Despite the loss, as previously mentioned, three Urban Knights reached double-digit figures in the points column including: Brown (15 points, five rebounds, one assist), junior center Cameron Niven (12 points, six rebounds, one steal, and one block), and Z. Williams (12 points, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal). Brown compiled a total of 35 points and 13 rebounds during the tournament while seeing a total of 55 minutes. For his efforts, he was named a member of the PacWest/CCAA Challenge All-Tournament team. This is Brown's first time being selected to an All-Tournament team with Academy of Art and he has emerged as an early leader amongst the Knights' senior class.
Two more non-conference opponents await ART U in their next tournament taking place November 17-18 in Nampa, Idaho against Northwest Nazarene and Concordia (Ore.). The Urban Knights' first match of the NNU Invitational will take place on Friday, November 17 at 8:00 p.m. MT against the NNU Crusaders.
