Game #21
ART U Urban Knights (10-10, 6-6 PacWest) at DU Penguins (7-13, 3-9 PacWest)
Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022 at 3 p.m.
San Rafael, Calif. – Conlan Center
Live Stats & Video

IT'S YOU AGAIN
Academy of Art men's basketball enters this week's only contest at .500 on the season for the first time since they beat St. Martin's back on Nov. 26, 2021, and is looking to stop a current four-game skid against Bay Area rival Dominican at the Conlan Center in Pacific West Conference action on Saturday. 

TIP-OFF
Saturday's showdown with the Penguins will have an afternoon tip time, with the action getting underway at 3 p.m. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram, as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps. 

KNIGHT WATCH
It was a tough week for the Urban Knights when matched up against the top two teams in the conference, as ART U took the No. 3 team in the West Region Biola into overtime but couldn't complete the late comeback as the Eagles squeezed in a layup with eight seconds left to snatch a 71-69 victory. Waiting was the No. 1 team in the PacWest standings, and Azusa Pacific proved their worth by defending their home court with a 75-70 win over the Knights. Junior guard Klay Brown brought his all-around game over the two contests, averaging 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 4.0 steals against the top competition in the PacWest. His fifth and final swipe of the game against APU was his 53rd 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. 

This season ART U is 10-3 when scoring above 75 points with an average 83.8 points per game in those contests (shot above 40 percent from the field in 11 of 14 occasions). However, ART U is 0-7 when scoring below that mark and averages just 65.4 ppg (shooting below 40 percent from the floor in first five of those seven games). That split leads to an overall average of 77.4 ppg on the strength of 43.6 percent shooting from the field, with the points per game ranking fourth in the conference. Currently standing at 1,548 points on the season, the Knights current pace would have them end the year with 2,167 points, which would be a new program record (current record: 2,105, 2019-20), while the scoring average would also be an ART U record (current record: 76.9 ppg, 2020-21).

Defense has been a hallmark of ART U this season, reaching double-digit steals a total of 13 times with a season best of 20 against HPU on Jan. 15. ART U is the only team in the PacWest to average double-digit steals per game, as they are sixth in all of NCAA DII with an average of 10.8 per game. Just as impressively, ART U's total of 216 steals is also sixth in the nation, and is also a new program record for single-season steals, topping the previous mark of 207 set in the 2016-17 campaign. At their current pace, ART U is projected to end the year with 302 total thefts. Additionally, their 360 forced turnovers are also a conference best while slotting ninth in the nation, forcing opponents to turn the ball over an average of 18.00 times per game which is seventh in NCAA DII. 

Other categories in which the Knights rank inside the top five in the PacWest include rebounds per game (fourth; 36.1), assists per game (third; 13.90), field goal percentage defense (fifth; 43.4 percent), free throw percentage (fourth; 75.1 percent), and turnover margin (second; +2.90).

When looking at stats from just ART U's 12 conference contests, Academy of Art posts the fourth-best scoring margin at +4.3 while averaging the most points per game in the conference at 80.2, and pulls down the second most rebounds per game with an average of 37.9. They remain at the top in steals per game thanks to an average of 11.83, while also appearing in the top five in the following categories: assists per game (third; 15.33), opponent field goal defense (third; 42.3 percent), free throw percentage (third; 77.6 percent), turnovers forced (first; 228), turnover margin (second; +3.92), and blocked shots per game (fourth; 3.08).

Leading the five Urban Knights that are averaging double-digit scoring is graduate student guard Deang Deang with 12.2 ppg on the strength of 50.3 percent shooting. Providing value with both his scoring and his work on the glass, sophomore forward Latrell Williams is averaging 10.8 ppg to pair with 7.7 rebounds per game, with a total of  five double-doubles on the season. His rebounding average is tops on the Knights while also ranking second PacWest, though he is first in the conference in total rebounds (154). The second-highest scoring average on the team is the 11.6 ppg from Brown, while just behind him is graduate student guard Denny Slay with 11.2 ppg. Rounding out the group is graduate guard Joshua Bagley with an average of 10.6 ppg, while also slotting ninth in the PacWest for assists per game with an average of 3.2.

Sitting atop the PacWest in steals per game at 2.8 is Brown, who has recorded at least two steals in every game that he has tallied a swipe, and has totaled 19 in his last five games. Paired with his 53 steals on the year, Brown ranks eighth in the nation for steals per game while tying for fifth in total steals. Trailing behind Brown in steals per game are teammates Deang (third, 1.7 spg), Slay (fifth, 1.6 spg), and redshirt junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. (seventh, 1.4 spg).  Meanwhile, junior forward Cheickna Sissoko is 10th in blocks per game at 0.7, swatting away a season-high five would-be shot takers during the win over Chaminade, the most in a single PacWest game this season. 

KNIGHTS' QUEST
Helping the Knights start 2-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 season was the duo of Popoola Jr. and Williams as the two were named to the SF State Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team. For Popoola Jr., he averaged 15.5 points per game and was clutch at the free throw line against the Gators, becoming the fifth Urban Knight to be perfect at the line with at least 10 attempts in a single game by going 10-for-10. Williams chipped in an average of 12.5 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game over the first two contests, including a double-double in his first game as a Knights where he dropped 19 points with 11 rebounds. Popoola Jr. also collected a PacWest Defender of the Week honor on Nov. 15, the first PacWest weekly award of his career, capping off a week where he averaged 3.5 steals per game as well as 7.0 defensive rebounds (eight total). 

Also key in the 2-0 start was Deang as he chipped in 13.5 ppg in the season-opening tournament and grabbed his own double-double during the win over the Seawolves with 20 points and 10 boards, going a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. He became only the second player in program history to post a perfect shooting percentage while making at least eight buckets, joining Aaron Aikman who did so on Nov. 9, 2013.

After a three-game slide that included losses to a pair of squads that now enjoy a national ranking in No. 4 Chico State and No. 15 Cal State San Bernardino, the Knights responded with a 90-78 win over Saint Martin's before capturing a signature win in the history of the program with a 79-60 defeat of UC Davis, the first victory over a DI opponent in the regular season in program history. ART U knocked down exactly half of their looks from the floor but hit on a season-best 61.5 percent (8-for-13) of their looks from downtown, the highest 3-point percentage in a game by a PacWest member school this season. 

PacWest action for the Knights began with an all-around impressive 91-71 toppling of Dominican, the largest win over the Penguins in program history (previous: 17 points, 79-62 on Feb. 1, 2019). Academy of Art showed their defensive grit and set a pair of their season highs that night, including 14 steals and six blocks, leading Bagley to be named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Dec. 6 thanks to a career-high four steals.

Following that was the first ever undefeated road trip to Southern California in ART U history, with an impressive 90-77 victory over Concordia before narrowly escaping 76-74 over Point Loma and the return of PacWest Preseason Player of the Year Kaden Anderson. Strong on the glass in the victories was Williams as he snatched a total of 15 defensive rebounds (22 total), becoming the third Urban Knight this year to be named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Dec. 13. 

The final PacWest game of 2021 saw the Urban Knights handily take down Chaminade in a 100-77 win effort, leaving ART U as the only remaining team without a loss in conference action and moving them into sole possession of first place. Additionally, ART U produced a four-game PacWest winning streak, the longest such streak in Urban Knights history. Starting with a 29-2 run in the first frame, the Knights would go on to set the third highest point total on the most field goals made (43) in program history. While the shooting hand of the Knights would cool a bit in the second frame, they still finished at a season-best 55.8 percent shooting from the floor. It was the third time the Knights hit triple digits in school history, and the first since they tied the program record with 107 points against Simon Fraser on Nov. 21, 2014. The scoring against CUH came on a season and program best 26 assists, tying the mark that they set against Holy Names on Feb. 13, 2020. 

Matched up against their second NCAA Division I opponent of the season, this time battling San Francisco neighbor USF, the Dons put an end to what had become the Urban Knights' six-game winning streak by giving ART U its first loss this season when reaching the 75 point mark. Leading all scorers was Deang with 21 points on 50 percent shooting (7-for-14) from the floor with a season-high four steals, while Slay chipped in 17 and totaled five assists for the second straight game. 

A pair of rematches against Point Loma and Concordia brought a 1-1 week, as ART U split the season's meetings with the Sea Lions but were able to sweep the Eagles for the first time in program history, while also tying the longest winning streak by either side in the all-time series (three games). Showing up defensively was Brown, who recorded five steals in both games while also averaging 5.5 defensive rebounds per game in being named the PacWest Defender of the Week on Jan. 10. He became the fourth Urban Knight to earn the award this season.

Tasked with playing three games in five days on the Hawaiian Islands, the Urban Knights came back with a 1-2 record thanks an 83-70 victory over Hawaii Pacific, though it was sandwiched between a pair of defeats at the hands of UH Hilo and Chaminade. Contributions came from all around on the trip but returning home with his second consecutive PacWest Weekly award was Brown, who was tabbed as the PacWest Defender of the Week on Jan. 17 thanks to an average of 2.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 5.0 defensive rebounds per game.

ART U picked Fresno Pacific's pockets nine times in the second frame and a pair of Bagley three-balls cut the deficit to three, but the Knights wound up just short against the team that allows the fewest points per game in the PacWest, with the Sunbirds icing the game from the free throw line in the closing seconds. Five of those steals would belong to junior guard Klay Brown, who claimed his third consecutive PacWest Defender of the Week award on Jan. 24 with an average of 4.0 steals and 3.0 defensive rebounds when including the contest against Chaminade. He is the only ART U men's basketball student-athlete to have earned the award multiple times in a single season, and is the first player to collect three or more PacWest weekly honors in a single year since Jase Harrison was named the Freshman of the Week four times during the 2014-15 campaign.

WADDLING PENGUINS
Though just 7-13 overall and 3-9 in conference play, Dominican enters the matchup as winners of their past two contests, taking down Holy Names in PacWest play 72-70 before handling business against UC Santa Cruz by a 76-70 final. Though the Penguins rank in the top half of the conference in both field goal and three-point percentage, they average a PacWest-worst 65.7 ppg this season. However, they remain competitive by allowing the second-fewest points per game at just 67.6, though that still leaves Dominican at a -1.9 scoring average. Two Penguins are averaging nearly identical double-digit scoring figures, as Adam Parker averages a team-best 12.5 ppg while Zamaria Odom sits slightly behind at 12.4 ppg, though Odom pairs that number with an average of 5.3 rebounds per game. Leading the team in that rebounds is Justin Brown with an average of 6.0 per game, a mark that is seventh in the PacWest. Though ART U won the earlier matchup between the two teams back on Dec. 4, 2021, Dominican leads the all-time series by a 20-9 margin. 

TRAILING BY THREE LATE, ART U HELD OFF BY AZUSA PACIFIC
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.  

LOOKING AHEAD
After their first originally scheduled contest was postponed, ART U will square off twice with Holy Names in consecutive games on Feb. 9 and 11 before hosting UH Hilo in a rematch on Feb. 13, with the Knights looking to enact revenge for the earlier meeting with the Vulcans.