LA MIRADA, Calif. – Academy of Art men's basketball controlled the majority of Saturday's contest against Biola while displaying a strong all-around game, shooting 51 percent from the floor while taking care of the ball with 14 assists and a season-low seven turnovers to produce a 79-66 win over BU in Pacific West Conference action.

Though both teams had numerous possessions in the early going, scoring was slow with each side trading buckets in the initial couple of minutes, and it was the Urban Knights (15-8, 10-6 PacWest) opening the scoring on a jumper from graduate student guard Will Balata. Following that stretch, the Eagles (14-8, 9-6 PacWest) took what would be their only lead of the game at 6-4 thanks to a layup from Hunter Ruck that occurred at the 16:49 mark. 

From that point on it was all ART U, producing a small 7-0 run that featured a block and a pair of steals to establish control of the contest before building what became a double-digit lead prior to the midway point of the half. A trio fo 3-pointers from sophomore guard Rodney Munson, senior guard Klay Brown, and sophomore forward Jamal Fuller were the heart of the stretch, though they were the only Academy of Art triples in the period. 

Hot shooting from the Knights kept the lead hovering above three possessions, at one time growing as large as 13 points with five and a half minutes until the break, but a long-range shot from Biola's Alex Wright made it just a 38-29 game at halftime. By the end of the period the Knights had connected on 51.5 percent (17-for-33) of their attempts from the floor. 

ART U continued their pace in the second frame but Biola trailed off, as the Knights tightened up on defense to hold the Eagles to just 13-for-38 (34.2 percent) on their shots from the field. Meanwhile, a layup from Balata out of the half that came off an assist by graduate student guard Deang Deang pushed the Academy of Art advantage into double-digits, which held until just after the 13 minute mark. 

In the battle of the top two rebounding teams in the PacWest, it was Biola who came out ahead in that matchup (42-31), and they grabbed many of those boards on the offensive side to help the Eagles return the contest to single digits just over six minutes later. Despite their best efforts, each time that Biola would draw close, Academy of Art pulled back in front thanks to their passing leading to open shot attempts.

The last BU push came with just over four minutes remaining in regulation, with a 3-pointer from Daniel Esparza bringing the game to 63-57 in favor of the Knights. However, Biola went into early foul mode and saw ART U connect at the line, pushing the Academy of Art lead into double-digits yet again before using fast offense to finish off a 79-66 win.

Academy of Art ended on the hottest of notes, making nine of their last 10 looks from the floor while again making 51.7 percent (15-for-29) of their shots in the second period.  With the win ART U finished off he season sweep of Biola, the first time they've done so in the all-time series between the two teams (which the Knights now lead 5-4). 

Already the PacWest leader in turnover margin, the Knights valued the ball as they committed just seven turnovers, a new season-low, while reaching the double-digit assist mark for the 19th time this season with 14 helpers on the day. Though they only had six steals, ART U forced Biola into 12 turnovers, resulting in the Knights scoring 15 points while also dominating the points in the paint (50-32).

Posting his new season-high with his first 20-point game of the year was Fuller, as he dropped 21 off the bench while also contributing two rebounds and two assists. Meanwhile, Brown went 7-for-10 (70.0 percent) from the field en route to 17 points, which also included a 2-for-4 (50.0 percent) mark from beyond the arc, as well as a team-best five assists. Two others also reached double figures, as both graduate student guard Stephon Hall and junior forward Latrell Williams chipped in 11 points apiece, with Williams pulling down a team-high six rebounds. 

Having concluded the road trip, Academy of Art returns home as the Knights will get set for the first matchup of the season against Bay Area rival Dominican on Saturday, Feb. 11 beginning at 3:30 p.m.