BELMONT, Calif. – Battling back with a 43-point second half, Academy of Art men's basketball found itself locked in a non-conference matchup with Humboldt State that needed two overtimes to be settled. Down only by one with two and a half minutes left in the second extra period, ART U nearly came away with the victory, but timely baskets and free throws from the visitors led them to an 89-87 win. Redshirt senior guard Dante Williams opened the contest a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the field and finished with a season-high 27 points, doing much of his damage in transition as the Urban Knights scored 21 points off turnovers inside Walter Gleason Gym on Friday.

The Urban Knights (2-7) and Lumberjacks (1-0) were separated by no more than three points until the eight and a half minute mark when HSU went up by five. That advantage ballooned to 16 with a 38-22 halftime score, but it did not rise any higher because a 3-pointer from junior guard Jacob Smith started a 7-2 burst early in the second half and soon six straight points from Williams had halved that margin.

Williams continued to push the tempo with consecutive transition baskets and seven points during an 11-2 surge that made it just 53-50 Jacks. After free throws by senior guard Stefan Milivojevic and another Williams layup had the HSU lead down to a single point with a little under three minutes left in regulation, free throws on the other end made it 65-61 with 25 seconds remaining. A quick find of senior forward Josh Hill by senior guard Joshua Bagley was the first of two clutch baskets that ensued with the second a layup from junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. after a steal by Milivojevic. That tied things up at 65-65 and, one missed game-winner later, overtime began.

ART U started the first overtime with four makes on its first six attempts from the field only to see Humboldt State right there alongside them at 73-73. After going up by two on a bucket by redshirt junior guard Jalen Lovett, the Knights were again tied with their opponent and had two chances at the game-winner in the final 21 seconds, but could not connect.

Two big triples from Amari Green were hit on successive possessions approaching the two-minute mark and HSU was soon up by six with a minute remaining. Not going without a fight, Academy of Art got its own 3-pointer from Popoola Jr. and had a chance to tie thereafter, but traded free throws kept the Jacks in front and the final score of 89-87 served as a reminder of just how close the final 15 minutes had been.

For Academy of Art, Williams' 27 points came on an impressive 11-for-13 shooting from the field in addition to nine rebounds. He added four assists and three steals in 40 minutes of action. Off the bench, Milivojevic contributed 15 points, Popoola Jr. tallied 14 points, and Hill's sixth double-double of the year took the form of 10 points and 16 rebounds.

Humboldt State was led by Green who had 27 points of his own as well as Victor Mijas' 20 points. Gabrys Sadaunykas offered a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds.

The Knights and Jacks will meet again this Sunday, Feb. 28 for another 2 p.m. tipoff inside Holy Names' Tobin Gymnasium in Oakland.