Academy of Art University Athletics

SAN FRANCISCO – Academy of Art men's basketball became victorious for the first time this season after the conclusion of Saturday's contest against SF State while displaying a strong all-around game, shooting 57.1 percent from three while taking care of the ball with 14 assists to produce a 79-66 win over the Gators in the SF State Tip-Off Classic.

"Tonight was a great win against a very good San Francisco State team," said Head Coach Scott Waterman. "After our performance last night, tonight was a test of our character and resilience and we bounced back and played ART U basketball. All nine guys who played made major contributions and we took a huge step tonight, but the road doesn't get any easier and we will continue to improve daily."

The game started off with a SF State jumper that was immediately followed up by a junior guard Treylon Payne bucket and it didn't take junior forward Isaiah Williams much longer to get his team-high scoring night to get started as he pulled up from deep and knocked down a triple to give the Knights their first lead.

ART U kept the defense guessing throughout the entirety of the first half, as all nine players managed to record a bucket that was created from great team basketball. Senior forward Latrell Williams, Isaiah Williams, and Payne played the biggest roles throughout the rest of the half as both squads went back-and-forth with their scoring which resulted in a four-point lead for the Gators as the game went into the break, with SFSU up 38-34.

The Knights looked to keep their foot on the gas in the second half with strong offensive efforts out the gate. Junior forward Jamal Fuller scored seven points in the first five minutes of the period, stapled with a dunk that gave ART U their first lead of the half. Isaiah Williams continued to fire shots, scoring seven straight points with junior guard Rodney Munson and junior guard Allen Taylor each tacking on triples to provide the Knights a seven-point lead with 10 minutes left.

The Gators could never pull within five points thereafter and ART U then expanded their lead into the double digits without looking back. The Urban Knights took the game 79-66 as Isaiah Williams finished with 21 points and did his part defensively with five rebounds on that end of the court (six total) and four steals. Latrell Williams added 16 points of his own while Fuller ended with 11 and redshirt sophomore guard Eli Taylor served as a key distributor with seven assists.

Jailen Daniel-Dalton of the Gators, now 1-1 on the year, did all he could for his team with a double-double that included 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Academy of Art, who improved to 1-1, will continue to play on the road as they set their eyes on the Wildcats over at Chico State, battling on Nov. 18 inside Acker Gymnasium with a 3 p.m. tip-off.