FRESNO, Calif. – Nine lead changes in the second half led to an unpredictable finish, as Academy of Art men's basketball could not overcome a pair of late 3-pointers by Fresno Pacific in Pacific West Conference action and was topped by a final of 82-78 on Saturday.

The two teams were separated by no more than three points within the final seven minutes of the game until the final free throw for the Sunbirds (3-3, 3-0 PacWest), trading the lead back-and-forth until Adrian Antunez was able to hit consecutive three's to seal the game. It felt as if the Urban Knights (1-4, 1-4 PacWest) did all they could defensively, but FPU hit on over half of their looks from the floor in the second frame as they worked on their comeback. A major part of the comeback, Antunez would score 11 of his 15 points in the second half. 

It was a hot start to the game for ART U with senior forward Josh Hill pouring in two buckets to jump start the offense, leading to what would ultimately be a period where the Urban Knights shot 48.3 percent from the floor. The lead would eventually balloon to as many as 11 points after a 3-pointer from junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. and a layup from senior forward Luka Radovic. However, the Sunbirds didn't let up and would cut the deficit to just six at the break, 41-35. The shooting from downtown was what helped build the lead for ART U, as they were 7-for-14 (50 percent) from beyond the arc, including two apiece from Popoola Jr. and senior guard Stefan Milivojevic. 

In all of five minutes the Sunbirds were able to storm back to tie the game, setting up the stage for their late-game heroics down the stretch. Twice would the Urban Knights pull off small runs of six and seven unanswered points, but couldn't fend off the push from Fresno Pacific late. Nate Kendricks would lead all scorers in the game with 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting while teammate Sean Nealon-Lino chipped in 18. While having a slow scoring night, Aamondae Coleman grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Three Urban Knights ended up in double figures led by Hill, totaling 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor, including a 3-pointer. He was just one rebound shy of a double-double, grabbing nine boards to go with a block and an assist. Popoola Jr. and Milivojevic added 18 points apiece, with Popoola Jr. draining a trio of 3-pointers to go along with nine rebounds. 

A return to the court will come on Tuesday for ART U, when the Knights face off against Dominican at 1 p.m. from Walter Gleason Gym.