AZUSA, Calif. – A pair of 3-pointers from graduate student guard Joshua Bagley would cut the Academy of Art men's basketball deficit to just three points with 11 seconds left against Azusa Pacific, but APU was able to hold off the ART U comeback effort from the free throw line for a 75-70 Pacific West Conference victory on Saturday. 

It was a furious comeback in the second half for the Urban Knights (10-10, 6-6 PacWest), as they erased what was an 17-point lead for the Cougars (10-6, 7-2 PacWest) over the final five minutes of action. Junior guard Klay Brown and sophomore forward Latrell Williams kicked off the run with a pair of buckets each, as Williams poured in a couple layups while Brown used his outside shooting including a three-ball, resulting in a 13-1 run to put the action within two possessions. 

After an APU bucket from beyond the arc, the Knights would be put in a position to foul and put the Cougars at the line. The strategy would work when Bagley would hit a pair of step-back 3-pointers, bringing the action to three points for the first time in the second half. It would be too little, too late for the ART U however, with APU knocking down each of their final two chances from the charity stripe to clinch the victory. 

Action was more even in the first half, with the Knights playing from ahead for the first few minutes before the lead began to swing back-and-forth. An 11-1 run for the Cougars would capture the game's momentum, leading to one last pair of shots from deep just before the half expired to give Azusa Pacific a 34-26 edge at the break.

The loss marks the fourth straight for Academy of Art, their longest losing streak of the season, but they remain in seventh place in the standings thanks to a Chaminade defeat at the hands of Point Loma. ART U's hallmark active defense showed up despite the defeat, forcing 21 APU turnovers while collecting a total of 14 steals, hitting double-digit steals for the 13th time this season. Now with a total of 216 steals on the season, the Urban Knights rank fourth in all of NCAA DII. 

Coming up with five of the 14 ART U steals was Brown, who has now tallied five thefts in a game on four occasions, and has recorded at least three steals in each of the last five contests. His final steal of the game was his 53rd steal of the year, a new ART U single-season program record after topping the previous record of 52 set by Alexis Moore in the 2013-14 campaign. 

Tying for the team lead with 15 points apiece were the duo of Bagley and Brown, with the latter also ending as the team's top rebounder by snatching seven rebounds while the former tallied a team-best four assists. Having a key second half for the Knights was Williams, who ended the night with 12 points on the strength of 6-for-9 (66.7 percent) shooting from the field to pair with six boards. 

Bay Area rival Holy Names is next on the schedule for the Urban Knights, as ART U look's to end it's four-game skid on Tuesday beginning at 7 p.m.