Game #23
ART U Urban Knights (9-13, 8-8 PacWest) vs Hawaii Pacific Sharks (13-10, 8-7 PacWest)
Mon, Feb. 12, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Video
 
Game #24
ART U Urban Knights (9-13, 8-8 PacWest) at NDNU Argonauts  (5-16, 4-12 PacWest)
Sat, Feb. 17, 2018 at 3:00 p.m.
Belmont, Calif. – Walter Gleason Gym
Live Stats & Video

THE HOME STRETCH
Academy of Art, back from its final regular season roadtrip to Southern California, turns its attention to a pair of familiar foes in Hawaii Pacific and Notre Dame de Namur this week. Every game for ART U remains critical to finish as one of the top six teams who will contest the Pacific West Conference Championship Tournament.
 
TIP OFF
Monday's contest against the Sharks will tip off at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday's game against the Argonauts will begin at 3:00 p.m. Live coverage will be available at the links listed above, but as always, you can follow the Urban Knights on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
 

KNIGHTS OF KNOTE
Senior guard Kendall Brown leads the team in several statistical categories including average points (15.5) and minutes (31.8) and is second with 5.5 rebounds per game. Brown's scoring average is also ranked as the ninth-highest in the PacWest. As a team, ART U enters Saturday's contest with the seventh-ranked defense in the conference with an average of 71.1 points allowed per game.  
 
THE BATTLE FOR SIXTH
Hawaii Pacific currently sits one spot behind the Urban Knights in the PacWest standings (8th). However, having played two games less than ART U, both the Sharks (7-7) and Knights (8-8) are tied with a .500 record. With the regular season coming a close, there are three teams vying for the sixth and final spot needed to receive a berth in the PacWest tournament, including: HPU, Academy of Art, and Concordia. Federico Niksha has been the Sharks' biggest offensive contributor this season, averaging a PacWest-leading 22.3 points per game. Niksha also leads his team and the conference with 10.5 rebounds per game.

Point Loma currently sits in fourth-place in the PacWest and they are in a stretch of six wins over their last seven games. Their four losses have only come at the hands of California Baptist and Azusa Pacific (two games each). The Sea Lions' success can be attributed to contributions received from up and down the lineup: there are four players on the team who are averaging double-digit point totals including Preston Beverly who leads PLNU with 14.8 points per game.
 
ARGOS IN A RUT
Notre Dame de Namur currently sits in a tie for 12th-place with Biola in the PacWest, posting a 4-12 conference mark thus far. The Argonauts have lost five of their last six contests with their last win coming against Holy Names on January 30. A transfer from Solano Community College, Louis Rodriguez has been leading NDNU this season with 11.4 points per game and is second on the team with an average, 5.0 rebounds.

PREVIOUS GAME: SECOND-HALF EFFORT FALLS JUST SHORT IN LOSS TO CBU
Feb. 5 - Academy of Art men's basketball stood strong against second-place, California Baptist. However, the Lancers accumulated a second-half lead which was too large for the Urban Knights to surmount, forcing ART U's late comeback bid to fall short.