BELMONT, Calif. – An intense game between Academy of Art men's basketball and Pacific West Conference leader No. 20 Point Loma had an equally exciting ending, as ART U nearly completed a double-digit comeback with a chance to knot the game at the final buzzer, but the three-point attempt missed the mark and allowed PLNU to escape with a 75-72 victory in conference action on Saturday. 

In what was truly a marquee conference matchup, both teams came out of the gate with a physical mentality and found no shortage of offense. Many of the Sea Lions' (18-3, 13-0 PacWest) belonged to Kaden Anderson, as he scored nine of the first 12 points for PLNU as they began to grab control. Though the lead would reach three possessions on the back of a 3-pointer from Anderson, the Urban Knights (12-7, 7-5 PacWest) cut the deficit to one point after a pair of free throws from graduate student guard Will Balata and five consecutive points from sophomore guard Rodney Munson. 

That pattern would repeat through the most of the first period until a 9-1 run for Point Loma gave the Sea Lions their first double-digit lead of the game, which was capped off by another bucket from beyond the arc by Anderson. It felt like dejá vú as Academy of Art received buckets from senior forward Mike Asante, junior forward Latrell Williams, and graduate student guard Deang Deang to trim the deficit to four, only to see the Sea Lions leading by 39-30 by the sound of whistle for halftime. Working the glass for the Knights was Asante, who grabbed 11 boards in just the first 20 minutes alone. 

Roles were seemingly reversed in the second frame, as consecutive triples and a free throw from senior guard Klay Brown helped ART U open the half on an 11-1 run to take their first lead of the game since the 18-minute mark of the first period. Though Academy of Art finished the sequence with a jumper from Asante and a layup from Balata, the lead lasted just one possession as Point Loma answered the next time down the floor. 

After connecting from downtown four times in the first half, Anderson dialed it up again for the response trey to put PLNU back on top before repeating the task 30 seconds later, extending the lead to five. At that point the game began to seesaw, with the game exchanging leads on three consecutive possessions thanks to a jumper from Asante and a triple from Deang. Despite a free throw from Anderson, ART U earned its largest lead of the night at four points on a layup from Balata and a free throw from Brown. 

It was then that PLNU put together one of its best stretches of the contest with a 10-0 run, snatching the game's momentum and another six-point lead with just over nine minutes to play. That margin would flutter but hold until just under 90 seconds remaining when the Knights began their comeback, scoring the game's next four points from the free throw line to trail by only two with 57 seconds in regulation. 

Point Loma continued to hold the edge thanks to a 3-pointer from Jake Lifgren with 28 seconds on the clock, and after a miss from ART U, they were forced to foul and put the Sea Lions at the line. The plan worked as Anderson missed both of his free throw attempts, and the Knights would take advantage with a trio of free throws of their own on the subsequent possession after Balata was fouled looking for the response trey with 12 seconds to go. 

With Academy of Art still needing to foul, Point Loma was able to burn seven seconds off the clock before a foul was called, but unfortunately could not put the game away as Lifgren was only 1-for-2 at the line. That left the door open for the Knights who needed to go the distance of the floor with no timeouts in only five seconds, and while Brown was able to get one final attempt up from inside half court, it couldn't find the target as the Sea Lions sweep the season series with the 75-72 win. 

Even in defeat there was ART U history as Asante continued to dominate the boards, tying the program record with 20 rebounds that was originally set by Hunter Hayden against Dixie State back on Jan. 17, 2011. It was his third double-double of the season, as he also totaled the team-high in points with 15, his fourth consecutive game in double-digit scoring.

A total of five Urban Knights reached double figures in the game, as Balata's 13 points and Munson's 11 both came off the bench while the duo of Deang and Brown chipped in 10 apiece. Asante also dished out four assists, while Brown tallied three blocks and two steals. 

Held to just 11 points and 11 rebounds in the first matchup, Kaden Anderson posted the game high in scoring with a 30-point effort which included six 3-pointers, also recording a double-double by snatching 14 rebounds. Three other Sea Lions also contributed double-digit points, with 16 coming from Brian Goracke thanks in part to a trio of treys. 

Just nine games remain on the regular season schedule for ART U, with the homestand continuing this Tuesday when the Knights host Hawaii Pacific in a rematch at 7 p.m. from Walter Gleason Gym after facing the Sharks earlier this month.