SAN FRANCISCO – Academy of Art men's basketball (7-18, 6-13 PacWest) played an impressive second half on both sides of the ball on Thursday night, shooting fifty percent from the field and forcing 11 turnovers in the period. Their efforts propelled them to a 74-67 win over the UH Hilo Vulcans (9-16, 7-12 PacWest).
 
ART U got off to a quick start out of the gate, immediately jumping out to a 2-0 lead when senior guard Herman Pratt IV knocked down a jumper in the Knights' opening possession. The team went on a 6-0 run to start the game and held the lead for the next 15 minutes.

The Urban Knights stretched their lead to as many as seven points in the first half on three separate occasions including at the 8:59 mark when a pair of junior guards worked in tandem: Victor Nwaba sent a pass in to Uchenna Okeneme who floated a layup off of the glass, giving ART U a 21-14 advantage. The Vulcans quickly responded with their first true run of the contest, scoring eight unanswered points, taking a one-point, 22-21 lead with 5:06 on the clock. After trading a pair of baskets, UH Hilo began to take control, outscoring the Urban Knights 19-10 to close out the half with an eight-point lead.
 
The Vulcans scored twice to open up the second period, pulling ahead by 11 points, their biggest lead of the game. Academy of Art moved swiftly to erase the deficit and recapture their dominant play. To do so, the Knights went on a 16-2 streak, highlighted by six points from Nwaba, regaining a lead which they would not relinquish. Although Hilo made it a two-point game with 7:16 to play, the Urban Knights refused to give up their advantage, eventually taking a 10-point lead with 32 seconds on the clock. ART U held the Vulcans to just six field goals and a .207 shooting percentage in the second half. Academy of Art's defense was particularly impressive on the perimeter, only allowing UH Hilo to go 1-for-15 (6.7 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc.  
 
Five Urban Knights reached double digit figures in scoring in the affair. Okeneme led the way with 13 points while adding one rebound, one assist, and one steal. Nwaba came away with 12 points along with three rebounds and a team-leading four steals. Lastly, Pratt, senior forward Chris Salas, and freshman forward Ivan Furlan each scored 10 points while Pratt contributed three assists and three steals as well. The four-year veteran and San Francisco native currently leads the men's basketball program with 99 steals and needs just one more to reach triple digits.
 
Academy of Art closes out their season on Saturday, February 25 when Azusa Pacific comes to San Francisco. Senior day festivities will also be afoot as the contest marks the last for seniors Pratt and Salas. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at SF State's Main Gymnasium.