Game #3
ART U Urban Knights (1-1) at Chico State Wildcats (1-1)
Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024 at 4 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video 

KNIGHTS HOME-OPENER
Academy of Art men's basketball is coming off a 1-1 record at the CCAA/PacWest Challenge last weekend against two California Collegiate Athletic Association opponents, and continues to battle with a member from the CCAA as the Urban Knights prepare to host Chico State for their home-opener.

TIP-OFF
Saturday's battle with the Wildcats will take place at Kezar Pavilion with a 4 p.m. start. 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
With a different feel this season for the Urban Knights as six new members are out on the floor, ART U looks to be spreading the ball out through their first two games of the season with multiple Knights getting their repetitions in. Returner and senior forward Isaiah Williams leads the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game (sixth in Pacific West Conference), while redshirt junior guard Donovan Vickers is next up with his 15.5 average. One other Knight is within the double-digits in scoring in senior guard Rodney Munson (13.5) while three other members are contributing 5.0 or higher for the team currently averaging 77.0 per contest. Seen getting boards on both ends of the court are five members of ART U with averages of 4.0 or more led by senior forward Quintin Metcalf and Munson's 5.5 per game. Defensively, the Knights seem to have picked up where they left off last year as they're already holding a 9.5 steals per game average with Vickers leading the squad in the category with his 2.5 a contest, sixth-most in the PacWest.

TRAINING THE WILDCATS
Starting the season with an identical record to the Knights are the Wildcats, who opened their season with a pair of three-point games against Seattle Pacific and Azusa Pacific. Chico went on to win their game against Seattle Pacific in their first appearance of the season, while the showing against Azusa Pacific was the loss on their record, happening just a day later. In that time, Jojo Murphy was the focal point of the offense as he knocked down 22.5 points per game on 51.5 percent shooting from the field, while Isaiah Kerr (15.5 ppg) and Miles Daniels (12.0) both joined Murphy in double-digit scoring through the start of the campaign. Down on the block, Murphy leads the team in rebounds per game as well with just a 6.0 average and the remaining boards are spread out across the Wildcats with six members averaging 4.0 or higher. Academy of Art will look to get back in the win column in a competitive contest with Chico State as the two have split their two most recent meetings, with the Wildcats taking the most recent last season.

SONOMA STATE NARROWLY ESCAPE FROM ART U COMEBACK, 80-78
In the closing game of the CCAA/PacWest Challenge on Nov. 9, the battle between Academy of Art men's basketball and the host Seawolves came down to the wire, as the battle with a one basket difference saw SSU escaping from the Urban Knights with a 80-78 final score.

LOOKING AHEAD
Following the game against Chico, the Knights will head north as they'll take on both Western Oregon and Saint Martin's on the road on Nov. 21 and Nov. 23.