HONOLULU – Academy of Art men's basketball was led by its defensive effort in a Pacific West Conference battle against Hawaii Pacific on Saturday, as ART U finished the night with a program-record 20 steals and got back into the win column thanks to a 83-70 win over HPU. 

"After the tough loss on Thursday, this was a great win on the road after a tough day of travel," said ART U Head Coach Scott Waterman. "Our ball pressure caused HPU to get out of sync, and we capitalized on the offensive end. Everyone contributed to the victory tonight, but we can't have any letdowns with another conference game on Monday."

Starting as a seesaw game that was back-and-forth in the first half, the Urban Knights (10-6, 6-2 PacWest) were the first team to truly sustain momentum thanks to a 13-4 run to close the opening 20 minutes of basketball. Key in that stretch was a trio of 3-pointers, with one apiece from junior guard Klay Brown, graduate student guard Joshua Bagley and graduate student forward Adrian Byrd-Jelinek, accounting for half of ART U's six buckets made from beyond the arc in the first half. 

Though an Academy of Art basket to start the second frame would push the lead to double-digits, it was twice cut down by the Sharks (3-11, 0-7 PacWest) to just one possession with slightly under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. However, that lead would not last thanks to the strong defense of the Knights that featured 14 steals in the second frame and turned into a total of 33 points off of turnovers as ART U then clinched the game from the free throw line down stretch. Tonight's victory marked two in a row over HPU, with the last coming nearly two full years ago on Jan. 29, 2020 in Honolulu. 

Nine different Knights were able to pick an HPU pocket, with six players totaling at least two steals. This was the 11th time this campaign that Academy of Art has earned 10 or more steals, but the 20 swipes tonight are the most in a single PacWest game this season, topping the previous season-high of 14 that they set in their matchup against Dominican on Dec. 4, 2021. 

Depth scoring has been key to ART U's success, as tonight marked the seventh time this season that five different Urban Knights have scored in double figures, led by the 16 points from Brown while Bagley and junior forward Mike Asante each chipped in 13 points. Rounding out the group with 11 points was graduate student guard Deang Deang, as well as graduate student guard Denny Slay with 10 points. While Academy of Art did have depth in their scoring, tonight was the first time in which the Urban Knights walked away victorious despite shooting below 40 percent from the field. 

Posting an all-around performance was Brown, as he also led the team in rebounds (seven) and assists (eight), with the assists becoming his new season-high. Already the conference leader in steals, Brown added another three to his season totals tonight, and swatted away a pair of would-be HPU shot takers. Both Bagley and Asante collected three steals apiece, but it was Slay who led all players with four of his own.

One final contest in Hawaii remains for Academy of Art, as the Urban Knights take on Chaminade in the finale of their three-game road trip this Monday with tip time set for 7:30 p.m. HST.