SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California men's basketball team didn't make it easy for itself on Thursday night but the Penguins came away with a 70-65 victory over Notre Dame de Namur to begin PacWest Conference play.

The Penguins had several chances to pull away but never pushed themselves over the edge. After falling behind by four early, the Penguins used a layup from Dominique Taplin and a three-pointer from Matt Hayes to take the lead with 15 minutes left in the first half. NDNU went back in front and a Josh Armstrong layup at the 10-minute mark in the first half gave the Penguins the lead, 18-17, and the lead for good. However, the lead never quite seemed safe. Karl Ohrner's fast break slam dunk with 5:01 not only capped an eight-point Dominican run but gave the Penguins a 13-point lead and forced an Argonauts timeout. Still, NDNU trimmed the lead to five by the half, 37-32.

Dominican quickly doubled its lead thanks to five points from Jonny Bates to start the half. A balanced inside-out attack pushed the lead to 17 by the 12-minute mark. Still, the lead was trimmed to 10 with an 11-4 Argonauts run. The lead dwindled further in the final minutes and with 1:07 to go, NDNU pulled to within 64-59 on a Don Washington layup. The Penguins turned the ball over in their next two possessions and the front end of a pair of Jamaal Davis free throws trimmed the lead to four, 64-60, with 39 seconds to go. With time winding down, the Argonauts were forced to foul and the Penguins staved off the late attack by sinking all six of their free throws down the stretch.

Taplin led the Penguins with 19 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks for his first double-double of the season. Hayes had four first-half three-pointers and finished with 14 points and six assists. He had half of the team's three-pointers as Dominican shot 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from deep and 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field overall. Armstrong, Ohrner, and Christopher Schwartz-Edmisten all added eight points apiece in the victory. The Penguins distributed the ball well and had 17 as a team.

NDNU was led by Jalen Young's 25 point, seven rebound effort. Washington finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and Davis also scored 15 points.

Dominican heads to Holy Names for an afternoon PacWest tilt on Saturday, Dec. 6. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. in Oakland.