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SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California men's baskeball team fell 89-64 to an experienced Hawai'i Pacific University team, as the Penguins dropped their first-ever Pacific West Conference game on Tuesday night.

HPU (9-3/1-0) saw 53 points scored by its seniors, compared to just 23 by the young Dominican (3-9/0-1) squad. HPU senior Mike Helton set the tone early when he buried a three-pointer from the right side within the opening minute. Killian Larson recorded the program's first points in PacWest play with a jumper in the paint aroudn the 18-minute mark. A Norman Wells jumper with 13 minutes to play doubled up the Penguins at 18-9 and a Ray Murdock fast break layup the next trip down gave HPU a 10-point lead. An Austin Bryan three-pointer at the 10-minute mark cut the lead to nine points but Dominican would never get closer than 11 the rest of the game. A Helton jumper gave HPU an 18-point advantage before another Larson bucket closed out the half, with Dominican trailing 42-26.

HPU saw its biggest lead of the game in the second half, when C.J. Jackson's layup put the Sea Warriors up by 26 with just under 10 minutes to play. The Penguins would only get as close as 19 points after that. Dominican was outmatched down the stretch, as HPU finished the game on a 12-6 run.

Senior Alex Ward led Dominican with 12 points while freshmen Austin Bryan and Larson added 11 points and 10 points, respectively. Xander McNally added nine points and eight assists in the loss.

Helton paced all scorers with a 29 points as four HPU starters reached double-digit scoring. Fellow senior C.J. Jackson dominated the glass, recording a double-double with 20 points and 20 rebounds. Ray Murdock dropped in 16 points and Norman Wells added 10 points in the victory.

The Penguins return to the court on Saturday, Jan. 9 when the University of Hawai'i at Hilo visits the Conlan Center. Dominican will look to record its first PacWest win against the Vulcans starting at 7:30 p.m.