SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Defeating a team twice is never an easy feat, let alone twice within a month, However, ART U did just that, defeating Dominican 74-63 to earn the program's first season-sweep over the Penguins.
 
Academy of Art looked dominant throughout the majority of the first half. After both sides were held to just four points apiece in the first five minutes, the Urban Knights took their first lead at the 14:33 mark: it was a triple from freshman guard Stefan Milivojevic that gave ART U a 7-6 advantage. From there, the Knights continued to build upon their advantage and took a 14-8 lead at the 12:31 mark when junior guard Kiel Long scored a 3-pointer from the left corner. ART U's defense only allowed the Penguins to score 12 more points in the period while the Urban Knights' offense continued to distance themselves from DUC. With only 30 seconds on the clock, senior guard Kendall Brown hit his first triple of the half, giving ART U their biggest lead to that point, a 35-20 advantage which they took into the locker rooms at halftime.

"I thought our effort and focus defensively was very good in the first half," said head coach Julius Barnes. "Aside from a few breakdowns at point of attack, we did a great job of contesting their shots and limiting them to one shot per possession."
 
To start the second period, the Urban Knights immediately built themselves an 18-point, 39-21 lead when junior guard Cole Morgan scored his 11th and 12th points with a layup in the paint. Academy of Art continued to pace Dominican over the next 11 minutes, keeping their advantage in double-digit figures. However, with 6:58 to go, the Penguins began to make a run, pulling within nine points and eventually only trailed by six with 6:11 on the clock. Dominican continued to flirt with a single-digit deficit until the final minutes, however Academy of Art refused to succumb, clawing out an 11-point, 74-63 victory.

"Coach Harris [of Dominican] is a great coach and he's done a tremendous job with his program," said Barnes. "We've had some pretty competitive games throughout the years and to be able to finally get a sweep against them is a significant achievement for our program. It's a huge win and gives us some much-needed momentum as we gear up for the final stretch."
 
Their win came, in part, from an impressive performance from Morgan. The Fresno, Calif. native notched his career-first double-double with 18 points and a career-high, 10 rebounds. Brown matched Morgan's team-high in points with 18, along with eight rebounds and an assist. Long was the third Urban Knight with double-digit points as he matched his career-best with 10 points while adding two rebounds and an assist. Overall, ART U shot 49.1 percent from the field while forcing 11 turnovers.
 
Now with a record of 8-11, (7-6 PacWest), Academy of Art will return home to face PacWest newcomer Biola on Monday, January 29 at 7:30 p.m.

"Biola is a very good team," said Barnes. "We're impressed by what they've been able to do and know that their record is not indicative of the problems that they've caused for some of the best teams in the conference. We'll need to be locked in defensively and really execute on offense in order to give ourselves the best chance to win Monday night."