Box Score SEATTLE — The Dominican University of California men's basketball team's long season-opening journey continued on Tuesday night in a 68-43 loss to Seattle Pacific University.

The game was the ninth in 10 games this season that the Penguins (1-9) have played on the road.  Dominican played Central Washington on Monday night in Ellensburg, Wash. and traveled on Tuesday morning to Seattle to play the Falcons (9-2).

Jacob Noisat scored 11 of his team-high 14 points in the second half, but the Penguins were outscored 34-20 by Seattle Pacific in that stretch. Noisat also had a team-best seven rebounds and Jammall Clark added six.Xander McNally contributed six assists to Dominican, but the Penguins were bothered by the Falcons' press and recorded a season-low point total.

“Quick shots and turnovers against press is not good,” said Dominican Head Coach Booker T. Harris. “You're just shooting yourself in the foot.”

Seattle Pacific from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference is now 7-1 this season against Pacific West Conference teams. Its only loss was to Grand Canyon in Phoenix on Nov. 25. Grand Canyon plays at Dominican on Jan.3, the PacWest season opener for the Penguins who will play six of eight games in the Conlan Center in January.

Harris hopes Dominican benefits from a bunch of games of the road against quality opponents.  The combined record of the teams who have handed the Penguins their nine losses this season is 50-23.

“You take the experience of what you see good teams do. What they do to opponents,” Harris said. “How they execute it and how they do all the little things right. They build on leads and they don't make mistakes.”

The Penguins stayed close in the first half against the Falcons by making the most of their possessions. They had only three turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Clark gave Dominican a quick 2-0 lead but more than six minutes passed before the Penguins scored again – a 3-pointer by Daniel Cheledinas. By then Seattle Pacific had built a double-digit lead.

Back-to-back baskets by Connor Haysbert twice brought Dominican within four points but the Falcons went on a 9-2 run and eventually took a 34-23 lead to intermission. Haysbert had a team-high six points in the first half and freshman Dartanyon Meggs had five. Clark had five rebounds for Dominican.

The Falcons placed four players in double figures including Andy Poling, a 6-foot-11 center who transferred last season from Gonzaga. Seattle Pacific, which beat Arizona in Tucson in an exhibition game on Oct. 27, was ranked No. 19 in the nation last week in NCAA Division II men's basketball.

Dominican's next game is Dec. 29 when the Penguins travel to Turlock to battle Cal State Stanislaus (5-1). It will be the Penguins' last road game before starting a season-long three-game homestand in January.