BOX SCORE

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — On Thursday night in Pacific West Conference play, the Dominican University of California men's basketball team got its first official victory of the season, defeating the University of Hawai'i, Hilo 79-73. Sophomore center Killian Larson had a career-high 32 points. Larson also led the Penguins with eight rebounds. In addition to the individual achievements in the game, there were multiple team season-highs including point total, field goal percentage, and steals.

Late in the first half, it appeared the Vulcans (12-6/4-3) were ready to pull away, leading 34-26 with 4:42 remaining. However, the surging Penguins (1-16/1-6) responded with 10 unanswered points to finish the half. Larson accounted for Dominican's final four points of the half, which ultimately tied the game with 2:06 left before the break. Larson's free throws with 1:24 remaining gave the Penguins the 36-34 halftime lead.

Junior guard Mark Lewis carried the run into the second half, with a jump shot early to extend the lead. UHH senior forward Zachary Wilde scored the first Vulcan field goal of the half. However, it didn't stop Lewis who immediately responded with a three-point basket. Lewis had 10 of the Penguins' first 12 points of the second half, sparking a 22-5 run. Lewis finished the night with a season-high 14 points.

“I think we did a lot things right tonight,” said Dominican Head Coach Bret Tovani, who was clearly relieved to get that first win of the season into the books. “As a team, we looked at the bigger picture and we looked at ways to succeed and we did that tonight.”

Dominican scored a season-high 79 points. The evening marked the best field goal percentage for the Penguins, shooting 57.5 percent. The defense also stepped up, with a season-high 11 steals.

Senior forward Justin Smith led UHH with 19 points while sharing the lead in rebounds with senior guard Aukai Wong and Wilde, all with five apiece.

The Penguins close a four game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 29 against Hawai'i Pacific University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Conlan Center. The game will be broadcast live on http://radio.dominican.edu and can also be viewed at http://www.dominicanathletics.com/livevideo. In the first meeting this season between Dominican and HPU, the Sea Warriors earned the 80-61 victory as the home team at BYU-Hawaii on Jan. 14.