Men's Basketball

Urban Knights Win Two, Win Two Awards

Academy of Art defeats APU and CUH at home, leading to Team of the Week and Latrell Williams POW award. Biola's Milovich has 29 rebounds in two games to pull down Defender of the Week.

Academy of Art took down the PacWest preseason favorite in convincing fashion and survived an upset attempt from Chaminade for Team of the Week. Latrell Williams scored 23 points in each game for Player of the Week, and Biola's Maximo Milovich had the two highest rebound totals in the PacWest this year for Defender of the Week. 
 
2023-24 Results/Schedule
2023-24 Standings
2023-24 Statistics

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Academy of Art's Latrell Williams, F, Sr., 6-5, Gary, Indiana                                                                                    
Academy of Art's Latrell Williams put up 23 points twice to help lead the Urban Knights to wins over Azusa Pacific and Chaminade. In a match-up of teams picked to finish 1-2 in the PacWest preseason poll, Williams had 23 points, seven rebounds and four steals in the 89-65 clubbing of the Cougars. In a game that came down to the final two possessions against Chaminade, the Indiana native had a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds and had two each in the categories of steals, assists and blocks. The third-year Urban Knight totaled 46 points for the week with 18 rebounds and six steals. He is now second in the PacWest in rebounds per game (8.3) and sixth in scoring (15.8).
 
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: Biola's Maximo Milovich, F, Jr., 6-8, Buenos Aires, Argentina                                                                            
Biola's Maximo Milovich posted the highest two rebounds totals in a game this season as his Eagles split games with Concordia (loss) and Westmont (win.). The Argentina native, who earned the third Defender of the Week award in his career, had a double-double of 14 points and 14 boards against Concordia, and also added three assists and a blocked shot. Against Westmont, he just missed double digits in scoring with nine points but had a career-high 15 rebounds and also added a pair of steals. His 29 rebounds for the week moved him into the top spot among conference leaders with 8.4 boards per game. 

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Academy of Art Urban Knights                                                                                                                                        
Academy of Art won its third straight game last week, but more importantly begin the PacWest season 2-0 after home victories over Azusa Pacific and Chaminade. Against the preseason favorite Cougars, the Urban Knights set a school record with 23 team steals, led by Jamal Fuller's six thefts and Treylon Payne's five. Latrell Williams had 23 points and Fuller had 21 to lead the 89-65 stunner. ART U forced Azusa Pacific into 32 turnovers. In a much tighter game against Chaminade, Williams again led the way (see POW) and Fuller had a double-double as well with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Academy of Art leads the PacWest in scoring at 81.1 points per game. 

VULCANS AND SEA LIONS REPRESENT: Hawai`i Hilo has the fourth slot and Point Loma is tied for eighth in today's D2CIDA West Region Men's Basketball Poll. Here's today's (Dec. 11) list. (1) Saint Martin's 10-1, (2) CS San Bernardino 7-1, (3) CS Dominguez Hills 8-1, (4) Hawai`i Hilo 7-2, (5) Chico State 6-2, (6) CS East Bay 7-2, (7) CS Los Angeles 7-2, (T8) Point Loma 6-3, (T8) Western Washington 8-3, (10) Central Washington 6-3. RV--Hawai`i Pacific, Academy of Art.

PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: Like Academy of Art, Hawai`i Hilo went 2-0 last week with victories over Fresno Pacific and Westmont at home. Carlos Ramsey, Jr., averaged 21 points a game in the wins, hitting 17of-28 shots from the field. He had 25 points against the Sunbirds. Nadjrick Peat had seven blocked shots in the two games...Hawai`i Pacific won its fifth straight game in a 56-51 defensive tussle with Fresno Pacific. The Sharks are now 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the PacWest...Biola split games last week with a loss to Concordia and a win over Westmont, but Nathan Medina put up significant points in both with 24 points versus the Golden Eagles and 25 versus the Warriors...For Concordia in that game, Javier Gallardo had a double-double in just 23 minutes of play with 16 points and 10 boards. He was 7-of-8 from the field. Tim Adetukasi added 12 points, ten rebounds and five assists...Isaac Peralta had 22 points in FPU's loss to Hilo...Dominican topped Azusa Pacific 64-57 in its lone game last week behind Marcus McCutchen's 17 points and 10 rebounds...Point Loma also won its only game of the week, a 65-60 decision over Concordia. Zack Paulsen had 17 for the Sea Lions, while CUI's Kobe Sanders led all scorers with 20...In Chaminade's three-point loss to Academy of Art, Jamir Thomas had 18 points and nine rebounds. Ross Reaves also had 18 points.

THIS WEEK IN THE PACWEST: The PacWest schedule this week features an even mix of conference and non-conference contests. Tuesday has Chaminade traveling to Dominican, with Wednesday showing a non-conference tilt with Western Oregon at Academy of Art. On Saturday, Fresno Pacific welcomes Sonoma State, but the rest of the slate are league games--Point Loma at Westmont, Dominican at Concordia, and Academy of Art at Biola. On Sunday Alaska plays at Hilo as a part of the Big Island Classic, and Hawaii Pacific will play CS San Bernardino in the same tournament. On Sunday, Chaminade hosts Lincoln CA.  To see the complete schedule and results, click here.