FRESNO, Calif. – The meetings between Academy of Art and Fresno Pacific this season have created some of the fiercest battles in the PacWest, and Wednesday’s clash was no exception as Academy of Art eliminated Fresno Pacific in front of its home crowd, winning 63-57 in the Special Events Center.
 
Latrell Wiliams played a physical game for the Urban Knights as he recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and drew nine fouls from Fresno Pacific (17-10) to lead Academy of Art (18-11) to its first win in program history at the conference tournament.
 
There were five lead changes in the tight battle, but Academy of Art’s defense locked down and held the Sunbirds to a 36.7 field-goal percentage, while collecting 14 steals. The Urban Knights now have 302 steals this season, becoming just the third team in PacWest history to eclipse the 300-steal mark in a single season.
 
Energized by a rowdy home crowd, the Sunbirds got off to an 11-point lead quickly at 17-6 and held onto that lead for the entire first half with the help of stingy defense. Fresno Pacific held the Urban Knights to just 22 points and cleaned up the board, limiting Academy of Art to just two second-chance opportunities.
 
Deang Deang came off the bench to provide a spark in the second half, scoring eight points on four field-goal attempts in the half. With 10 minutes left, he hit a fast-break 3-pointer to give Academy of Art its first lead, 43-42. That was part of a 9-0 run in which Deang accounted for over half the points for the Urban Knights.
 
Academy of Art went on a second 9-0 run after Fresno Pacific had retaken the lead with four minutes left. Williams started the run with a lay-up, and then a Klay Brown steal set up a 3-pointer by Adrian Byrd-Jelinek to take a 53-51 lead with 3:23 left. Brown got a second steal a couple possessions later leading to a dunk for a 57-51 lead, and the Urban Knights never let Fresno Pacific back into the game.
 
Joshua Bagley was Academy of Art’s second-leading scorer with 12 points, while Denny Slay added five steals and a block. The PacWest Newcomer of the Year Jelani Watson-Gayle had a team-high 15 points for Fresno Pacific, and Darrin Person contributed 13 points with eight rebounds.
 
Academy of Art will play in the PacWest Championships semifinals for the first time when the Urban Knights take on the winner of No. 1 Point Loma and No. 8 Chaminade on Friday at 2:45 p.m.