BOX SCORE

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The Dominican University of California Men's Basketball team closed the home schedule Friday with a 73-65 victory over Academy of Art University in Pacific West Conference play. Down six points with four minutes to go, the Penguins made a 17-3 run to come from behind for the win. Sophomore center Killian Larson scored five during the run, which added to his team-high 22 on the night.

The first half started well for the Penguins (4-21/4-11), as they opened up with a 10-6 lead. All of Dominican's opening points came from Larson and junior guard Xander McNally. Eventually the Urban Knights (5-20/2-13) took their first lead, 11-10, as junior forward Keith Davis hit a jumpshot. From that point, Davis highlighted the AAU scoring with 12 in the half, fueling a run for the Urban Knights.

Both teams struggled from the field in the first half as Dominican and AAU shot 39.1 percent and 33.3 percent, respectively. Free throws gave the edge to the Urban Knights, who were 16-of-19 from the line, while the Penguins went just 8-of-15. That difference ultimately contributed to AAU's 36-27 halftime advantage.

In the second half, the scoring was fairly even early. AAU led by 10 until senior guard Brett Poncia hit a three-point basket to cut the lead to seven. Trailing for much of the second half, the Penguins put together a very memorable run to close out Senior Night. The run started with a layup from Larson and the lead was cut to one when junior guard Mark Lewis hit a three-pointer.

Dominican finally led after a second effort. After a missed three-pointer by redshirt freshman forward James McKinnon, senior forward Leon Hart put back a layup to give the Penguins a 63-62 lead, and Dominican would not look back. Lewis scored another three-pointer after the Hart putback to extend the Penguin lead to 66-62.

With successful free throws down the stretch, and baskets from Larson and McKinnon, the Penguins built a comfortable lead to finish the night.

AAU was led by Davis' 25 points. Davis also shared the Urban Knight lead in rebounds along with senior forward Jonathan Burnett and freshman forward William Overton Jr., with five apiece.

Prior to the game, seniors on the Dominican squad were recognized for their commitment to the program. Along with Hart and Poncia, guard Mike Wells and guard Adam Chavis were included in a pregame ceremony acknowledging the contributions from each player. Senior Karla Dajano was also recognized for her committment as a Dominican cheerleader.

The final game of the 2010–11 campaign takes place next Saturday, March 5. The Penguins head to Notre Dame de Namur University with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Earlier this season, on Feb. 5, Dominican defeated the Argonauts 61-58. Video of that game will be be broadcast live online and will be available at www.dominicanathletics.com/livevideo.