SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- Friday's quarterfinal between No. 3 Chico State and No. 6 Academy of Art was closer than the final score indicates as the Wildcats won 78-61 in the first game of the 2022 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball West Regional.

Chico State (20-4) used a 12-0 run that spanned across the two halves to take control of the game as the Wildcats pushed their lead to as much as 14 early in the second half. Academy of Art (20-12) began to play with urgency and created scoring chances with defensive plays, making six steals in the game to finish the season with 331 steals; a new PacWest record. Academy of Art went on a 9-2 run with some points off turnovers by Klay Brown and Denny Slay to cut the deficit to 63-57. However, a scoring drought after the second lay-up by Slay meant that was as close as the Urban Knights got.

Chico State advances to face the winner of No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino and No. 7 Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday in the semifinals. Academy of Art's five-game winning streak, during which it won the PacWest Championships, came to an end. The Urban Knights were playing in the NCAA West Regional for the first time in program history.

Latrell Williams finished the game with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Asante, who was the PacWest Championships MVP, added 11 points and five rebounds. Kelvin Wright Jr. led Chico State with 18 points and West Region Player of the Year Malik Duffy contributed 15.

Academy of Art's 20 wins this season is a new program record, and its tied for the fourth most wins by a West Region team this year. The Urban Knights earned wins this year over tournament teams such as Azusa Pacific and Point Loma along with a win over NCAA Division I UC Davis. The high point of the year for Academy of Art came in Fresno, where the Urban Knights won their regular season finale in overtime and then went on to win three more games in Central Valley to lift the PacWest trophy.