FRESNO, Calif. – PacWest Defender of the Year
Klay Brown made one of the most important offensive plays of the season so far, knocking down a game-winning corner three to lift No. 4 Academy of Art to a 78-75 overtime victory against No. 1 Point Loma, snapping the Sea Lions’ 12-game winning streak on Friday afternoon at the Special Events Center.
Academy of Art trailed 75-70 with just over a minute left when
Deang Deang made a pair of free throws. Then
Denny Slay made the Urban Knights’ 13th steal of the game and passed the ball to Brown, who was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. He knocked down all three attempts to tie the game, 75-75, in the overtime period.
On the next possession, it was
Mike Asante’s turn to grab a steal, giving Academy of Art the ball left with the shot clock off and the score tied. That was the same position that the Urban Knights were in at the end of regulation, but the first opportunity slipped away as Asante couldn’t get an open look as time expired with his 3-pointer rimming out.
On the second try,
Joshua Bagley drove into the lane and put up a contested lay-up which bounced off the glass and went long. Several players scrambled on the ground for the rebound, and Asante was the first to grab the ball right under the hoop. Asante quickly realized that Brown was wide open in the corner and kicked the ball out to him. Brown had no hesitation and drilled the game-winning corner three to send the Urban Knights to the PacWest Championships final for the first time.
Academy of Art will advance to play against No. 2 Azusa Pacific in the championship game, which will tip off at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Azusa Pacific won both meetings during the regular season by single digits against Academy of Art, which is now 19-11. Point Loma is now 21-9 after suffering its first loss since January. The season will likely continue for Point Loma, which has proven that it is deserving of one of the five at-large bids into the NCAA West Regional. The Sea Lions will find out what they will be seeded at the selection show on Monday.
Both regular season meetings between Academy of Art and Point Loma indicated that the PacWest semifinal was going to be a thriller with the Urban Knights winning by one possession in the first meeting before Point Loma won in San Francisco in double overtime. The rubber match still exceeded expectations with several plot twists in the second semifinal.
Point Loma gave up 14 turnovers in the first half, and Academy of Art took full advantage of the errors its defense forced.
Adrian Byrd-Jelinek hit a 3-pointer late in the first half to earn a 32-25 lead.
Latrell Williams was the go-to-guy during the first half, attempting 12 shots and getting 11 points for the Urban Knights.
Point Loma regained the lead in the second half with a familiar formula of deadly shooting from deep.
Ben Okhotin knocked down one of his four 3-pointers midway through the second half to take a 44-40 lead for the Sea Lions. However, Academy of Art responded with a 10-0 run with Slay scoring the first five points of that run.
PacWest Player of the Year
Kaden Anderson kept his team in the game in the final minutes of regulation, knocking down a pair of treys and a jumper in the paint to tie the game. After Asante hit a go-ahead 3-pointer,
Brock Mackenzie responded immediately with a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game, 66-66, which was the score at the end of regulation.
Anderson scored six points in overtime to give Point Loma a 75-70 lead with 1:15 left in the game. Academy of Art responded to that with an 8-0 run to finish the game and keep the season alive.
Mackenzie finished with a game-high 26 points, while Anderson added 18 points, which all came after the first half. Academy of Art’s offense was led by 20 points from Brown, who also had six rebounds and three steals. Asante filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, nine rebounds, six assists (including the game-winning pass), four steals and two blocks.