FRESNO, Calif. -- Academy of Art had not previously won a game at the PacWest Championships in program history, but over the last four days, the Urban Knights defeated the tournament's host, the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 seed all in a row, finishing with a 73-70 win over Azusa Pacific in the championship game on Saturday afternoon in the Special Events Center.

Mike Asante scored 16 points in the final and was named the tournament MVP, finishing with 39 points. Academy of Art is the first No. 4 seed to have won the tournament. As a result, Academy of Art has earned an automatic berth into the NCAA West Regional, qualifying for the first time in program history. The Urban Knights will find out on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. where they will be seeded.

Important news also awaits to Cougars tomorrow as the conference's runner-up will find out if they earn one of the five at-large berths. Azusa Pacific now have a 20-9 record this season, compared to a 13-9 record for Cal Poly Pomona, which lost in the first round of the CCAA Tournament. The Cougars will also be watching the GNAC Tournament final with interest, needing a win from Central Washington to free up an at-large bid.
 
Neither team led by more than nine points at any time in the game, and the lead changed six times. With just under 12 minutes left in the game Adrian Byrd-Jelinek hit a 3-pointer off a Deang Deang steal to give Academy of Art a 45-44 lead. That was the start of a 13-2 run that gave the Urban Knights that made the lead 55-46, and Academy of Art never let that lead slip away.
 
Azusa Pacific cut the deficit to as little as one twice, but the Academy of Art defense came through both on the defense end and at the free-throw line to hold onto the lead. The decisive defensive play came in the final minute after Denny Slay made a free throw to take a 63-59 lead with 1:23 left to play. The ART U defense didn’t let Azusa Pacific get any good looks, forcing the Cougar to use up the entire shot clock before attempting a contested lay-up. Klay Brown grabbed the rebound in a scramble in the paint to make the rest of the game a free-throw battle.
 
Academy of Art made only 4 of 10 free throws up to that point in the second half, but during the final seconds, Slay and Brown each made four free throws without any misses. Those free throws proved to be necessary as Justin Hemsley and McKelary Robertson both made 3-pointers in the final seconds, but the Urban Knights never let the lead slip away.

Academy of Art created havoc on defense like it has all season and made nine steals, including a team-high of three by PacWest Defender of the Year Brown. The Urban Knights now have 325 steals on the season and need only four more in the first round of the NCAA West Regional to break the PacWest single-season record. They turned those nine steals into 14 points off turnovers.
 
Byrd-Jelinek tallied 15 points and Latrell Williams added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Slay had 10 points and Bigley added nine. Brown contributed six points, eight rebounds and four assists. Azusa Pacific was led by Ken West and Hemsley with 14 points each, while Terrence Becvar scored 12 points off the bench.

All-Tournament Team
Mike Asante, Academy of Art, MVP
Klay Brown, Academy of Art
Latrell Williams, Academy of Art
Ken West, Azusa Pacific
Justin Hemsley, Azusa Pacific
Kaden Anderson, Point Loma