BOX SCORE

ST. GEORGE, Utah — The Dominican University of California men's basketball team suffered its biggest loss of the season, falling 82-54 to Montana State Billings at Burns Arena in the first night of the Dixie State Classic on Friday.

Dominican (2-4) fell behind from the get-go, trailing 9-2 just four minutes into play. Halfway into the first half Montana State Billings (3-1) led 17-8 and the lead quickly ballooned to 15 three minutes later. With three minutes left in the first half, the Hornets led 41-16 and pushed the lead to as large as 30, going into halftime with a 46-19 advantage.

The Penguins scored 12 points in the first four minutes of the second half but MSB scored 11 points, negating the early Dominican surge. With five minutes left to play, the Penguins cut the lead to 21 on a free throw by Mike Wells. A 10-6 run by the Hornets pushed the lead back to the final at 82-54.

No Dominican player pulled down more than four rebounds, as the Penguins were outrebounded 47-27 for the game. Montana State Billings shot .467 from the field while Dominican shot just .320. The Penguins also had a tough night at the free-throw line, making just 20-of-33 attempts (.606). Dominican also turned the ball over 21 times while dishing out just four assists as a team.

Austin Bryan led the Penguins with 14 points in the loss. Alex Ward added 10 points. Alastair Flack chipped in eight points and Brett Poncia finished the night with seven points.

Five Hornets reached double digits, including four starters. Derrick Wright led all players with 18 points.

The Penguins faceoff with Northwest Nazarene University on Saturday, Dec. 5 at the Burns Arena in the second and final night of the Dixie State Classic, hosted by Dixie State College of Utah. Tipoff against the Crusaders is set for 5:00 p.m./4:00 p.m. Pacific.