SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Seattle Pacific University, the top-ranked team in the NCAA Division II West Region men's basketball poll in November, will be the featured guest for the four-team Dominican Classic on Friday and Saturday nights, December 17-18, at the Conlan Center.

Dominican University of California is opening its doors to the community and extending an invitation for all students, from high school to kindergarten, to attend the tournament games free of charge. They also can attend for free the Dominican women's basketball game on Saturday, December 18, at 2:00 p.m. against undefeated Cal State Monterey Bay. The Dominican women are led by Marin Catholic High grad Kelsey Janusch of Novato, who leads the Lady Penguins in scoring.

Adult tickets are $10 per day at the door, $5 per day for seniors over 60 for the Dominican Classic. High school students must present a valid school ID to enter free.

In addition, Dominican is inviting Marin CYO basketball teams to attend the games free of charge.  Several CYO teams will compete at halftime and there will be games and prizes given away as part of the family-oriented festivities.

The main event in the Dominican Classic will be the tournament finale at 7:30 p.m. on December 18 when the Penguins, led by redshirt senior guard Adam Chavis, host Seattle Pacific. SPU was ranked No. 7 nationally among NCAA Division II team in a preseason poll by The Sporting News. The Falcons are led by preseason first-team All-American senior point guard Chris Banchero. He was the 2010 Great Northwest Athletic Conference and West Region Player of the Year last year who opened this season by scoring 30 points or more points in three consecutive games, two in road wins against NCAA Division I opponents  Eastern Washington and Nevada-Reno.

Furthermore, Seattle Pacific has added 6-foot-11 Andy Poling, a transfer from Gonzaga, and 6-10 Modou Niang, a transfer from Utah State who was born in Tokyo and grew up in the Senegal.  They give the Falcons their tallest frontline ever.

The Dominican Classic begins at 5:30 p.m. on December 17 with Seattle Pacific facing Notre Dame de Namur University. The Argos had an overall record of 4-23, 2-14 in the Pacific West Conference last year, but they return an experienced team.  NDNU is led by 6-8, 245-pound senior center Nick Storment and has a roster featuring 14 juniors including point guard Jeff Ford who was averaging 20 points a game through the Argos' first four games this season. Notre Dame lost to UC Davis 80-53 on Saturday as the host Aggies netted a school record 15 three-point shots.

Dominican's first game in its holiday tournament will follow that game at 7:30 p.m. against St. Martin's University of Lacey, Wash. The Saints are coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1992. They opened this season with an exhibition game loss at the University of Washington then won six of their first eight games. St. Martin's has a balanced scoring attack as seniors Galen Squiers and Blake Poole, junior Jeremy Green and sophomore Roger O'Neill are all averaging in double figures scoring.
St. Martin's will play Notre Dame de Namur on December 18 at 5:30 p.m. before the Dominican-Seattle Pacific match-up.

The games against St. Martin's and Seattle Pacific have particular interest for Dominican's players from the state of Washington. Killian Larson, a 6-10 sophomore, hails from Puyallup, Wash. and fellow 6-10 sophomore teammate Tyler Sokol  is from Longview, Wash. Sharpshooting freshman recruit Daniel Cheledinas (Seattle's King High School) and redshirt Jeff Rerucha (Bellevue High School) also are from Washington state. Sophomore Austin Bryan, who led the PacWest in scoring as a freshman before suffering a season-ending knee injury, is from Wenatchee, Wash. The team is hoping Bryan might be able to resume playing for the Penguins either when Dominican plays NCAA Division I foes Hampton University, Colorado State and University of San Francisco in the USF tournament December 28, 30, and January 1 or when the Penguins begin PacWest play on January 8 at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo.