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SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — In Thursday night's Pacific West Conference home opener, the Dominican University of California men's basketball team fell to the Red Storm of Dixie State College, 74-52. The Penguins were clearly present in the paint with sophomore center Killian Larson leading the team with his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

In the first half, it appeared a quick 5-1 lead for Dominican (0-15/0-5) would spark confidence when junior guard Xavier Muldrow knocked down a three pointer. However, the Red Storm (9-4/2-1) came back from the early deficit, and eventually tied it at 7-7. After a Dominican turnover, Dixie State junior Maurice Cole put in a layup for the lead. The Red Storm led for the remainder of the game.

Larson, who was named to the PacWest Weekly Top 10 Honor Roll for the second straight week, had a strong second half, scoring 14 of his 18 points. The strong presence inside was also noticeable on the glass, including putbacks. Larson left play midway through the second half with a chipped tooth but would return and contribute down the stretch.

Turnovers were costly for the Penguins, who tallied 22 on the night. Dixie State capitalized, converting those turnovers into 30 points.

Senior forward Leon Hart added nine points in the loss and Junior guard Xander McNally had over half of the Penguins' assists with six.

Cole lead Dixie State with 13 points. Senior forward Tom Whitehead and junior forward Griffin Jones shared the team lead in rebounds with five each.

The Penguins will look to post their first official victory this season on Saturday, Jan. 22 against Grand Canyon University. Tipoff at the Conlan Center is slated for 7:30 p.m.. Fans can listen live to the play-by-play on http://radio.dominican.edu or watch live at http://www.dominicanathletics.com/livevideo. The game is the second of a four-game homestand.