Photo Gallery (images by Meg Williams)

San Francisco, CA -- The Academy of Art men's basketball team lost to Cal State East Bay on Wednesday, but the team keeps getting closer and closer to that elusive first win of the 2011-12 season. The Urban Knights put up a season-high in points in front of a rowdy crowd at Kezar Pavilion, but their comeback bid fell short, and the Pioneers went back across the Bay with a victory, defeating the Knights 80-70.

"I think this is the best we've played so far, and against a quality opponent, too," head coach Mark Sembrowich said. "We battled. The way they play really expends you on the defensive end of the floor, and we had a lot to try to keep a handle on. I think right now it was really important that we hung in there and battled."

Sophomore scoring machine William Overton, Jr., the ART U leader in scoring for each of the first three games, put up a season-high 26 points to lead the way. He also added eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Three other players broke into double figures in scoring as well, as Noah Koné-Nelson (12), Ameer Shamsud-din (11), and Ivan "B.J." Prema, Jr. (10) each had solid scoring efforts for the home team.

"Will has that ability, and he's still learning," said Sembrowich. "We moved him around. He played some on the perimeter and some on the post, and that's a good way for him to play. He gets a lot of different kinds of baskets. A layup, a leaner, a runner, a floater, and then he steps back and nails a three. He's going to score." 

The Pioneers led for most of the game, mostly thanks to junior guard and leading scorer Mark Samuels, who backed up a 29-point night against Dominican last week with a 28-point performance against the Knights. Samuels, who seemed to score at will against the Penguins, especially from three-point range, had to work hard for his points against the Knights defense, as he was unable to get anything going from beyond the arc, going 0-for-3 for the night.

But the Knights we're not as prepared for guard Jason Smith, who seemed to be there to silence the crowd with a clutch 3-pointer every time the home team started to build momentum. Smith finished his night, the first of his 2011-12 season, with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, going 6-for-11 from deep, including the dagger to put Cal State East Bay up by 11 with 1:32 to play.

"Smith really hit some shots tonight, shots that hurt," Sembrowich said. "I've really got to give him credit. He stepped in and smoked them in, and that made a big difference in the game."

The Knights had their best night shooting on the young season, putting up a 41.2% mark, including a 50% first half. The Pioneers only made one more field goal than ART U in the first half (16 to 15), but their free throws (7 to 2) and Smith's threes (5 to 2) had East Bay up by ten at the break.

Academy of Art came out on fire in the second half, going on an immediate 8-0 run and forcing a timeout by East Bay coach Will Biggs with the score 47-45. But again, it was Smith with a three to put the Pioneers back up by five, and the Knights could never get that close for the remainder of the game.

"I saw a lot of good fight, I was proud of the way we battled, and we're going to keep getting better," Sembrowich said. "We're going to keep getting better, and that's the goal. We can't let tiredness beat us. You've got to find a way to fight it. "

The Urban Knights will have another chance this weekend against UC San Diego, tipping off at 2:00 PM on Saturday.