Box Score Podcast

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — On Saturday night, the Dominican University of California men's basketball coaching staff wore sneakers with their suits as part of the NABC and American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer program. By the end of the night, the Penguins had snuck one out at home over second-place Chaminade University with an 84-83 overtime victory in Pacific West Conference action.

Senior point guard Myles Carrillo walked off the floor after less than two minutes into play with back stiffness. That seemed cause for alarm, especially when the Penguins (13-7/7-5 PacWest) trailed by seven after allowing an 8-0 Silver Swords (12-7/9-2 PacWest) run. Yet Dominican answered with a 7-0 run to knot things at 23-23. From there, Dominican took a five-point halftime lead, 36-31, on a three pointer from the man who replaced Carrillo on the floor, Christopher-Schwartz-Edmisten.

The Penguins quickly made it a seven-point to begin the second half though things got dicey after that. Chaminade took its first lead of the second half with 10:56 on the clock on a pair of James Harper free throws. Three possessions later, Chaminade held a four point lead on an AJ Mathew three-ball. Another Mathew three-pointer with 3:10 left in regulation made it a nine-point ballgame and quieted the Conlan Center crowd.

Yet, Dominican made baskets when they needed to. A Matt Hayes and-one trimmed the lead to six, then Dominique Taplin grabbed a defensive board and dished it to Hayes to make it a three-point ballgame. A Schwartz-Edmisten layup made it a one-point ballgame. Down three with a minute to go, a Hayes three-pointer missed the mark but Connor Haysbert was there with the outback and muscled his way up to draw the foul. His free throw tied it at 73-73 with 58 seconds to go. Harper and James both missed shots on Chaminade's final regulation possession to force overtime.

Taplin, who led all players with a career-high 13 rebounds, grabbed a Schwartz-Edmisten miss and drew the foul. He knocked down both free throws and the Penguins had the lead. Kuany Kuany made one of two free throws on the other end and Haysbert answered with a layup to put the Penguins up three. The lead grew to four on Taplin three-pointer with under two minutes to go but four straight points from Lee Bailey tied the game at 82-82 with 48 seconds to play. With 32 seconds, Tyree Harrison made the backend of his free throws, which set up a final play for the Penguins.

Head Coach Booker T. Harris called timeout with 15 seconds to set up a final play. Two minutes earlier, out of the huddle, Matt Hayes had found Devin Golston suspended in the air for an incredible jumper to stay a step in front of the Silver Swords. So it seemed only natural that the senior powered his way into the paint and got a jumper off with 11 seconds to go. That shot fell and the Penguins held on for the victory.

Hayes finished with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting to lead Dominican. Schwartz-Edmisten stepped up in Carrillo's absence with 20 points in 40 minutes on 8-of-12 shooting with three three-pointers. Golston drained 6-of-11 from the field for 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Taplin added 11 points for his third double-double of the season.

The Dominican victory put an end to Chaminade's seven-game winning streak, which began with a come-from-behind victory over Dominican on Jan. 6 in Honolulu. Bailey was one of five Silver Swords to reach double digits in Saturday's game with a game-high 22 points.

Dominican hits the road and will face Point Loma in San Diego on Thursday, Jan. 30 and Dixie State in St. George, Utah on Saturday, Feb. 1 as the Penguins have just eight regular season games remaining.