SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California men's basketball team won its PacWest Conference opener on Thursday evening, 62-57, over Holy Names.

The Penguins (2-4/1-0 PacWest), still without starter Josh Ramirez and with fellow senior Seth Turner being eased into service, shuffled the lineup once again. Jeremiah Gray led the Penguins with 16 points, Cedric Thomas scored 11 points on a 4-for-4 night with six assists, and Henry Uwadiae came up big in his first start for Dominican with 10 points, nine rebounds, and six blocks. Quentin Mendoza added eight points in a starting role and Ryo Tawatari added six points. Both guards dished out three assists. Reverend Maduakor came off the bench for nine points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Dominican overcame a slow start and trailed by five points early. Dominican answered with a 7-point run, punctuated by an Uwadiae slam dunk to put Dominican in front 12-10. Uwadiae swatted one away at the other end and three minutes later the Penguins led by seven thanks to a  Gray three-pointer. The Hawks (1-7/0-1 PacWest) rallied back though and took a 28-27 lead into halftime.

The Penguins scored eight points in the first two minutes of the second half and led 35-30 on another Gray three-pointer. HNU called timeout but the Penguins poured it on. Gray drove the lane for an uncontested dunk, which gave the Penguins a 10-point lead with 14 minutes to go. Back-to-back Hawks threes trimmed the lead to four with just under seven minutes to play but Maduakor buried a three, then Thomas laid one in to push the lead back to nine with five to go. Jason Webster's three-pointer trimmed the lead to three but a pair of clutch free throws by Gray iced the game with 27 seconds to go.

The Hawks were led by Jewels Sanders, who came off the bench for a game-high 19 points. Webster added 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Marcelas Perry had 10 points and five rebounds in the loss.

Dominican's next game is Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. That is Star Wars™ Day versus Cal State Dominguez Hills. Fans will have a chance to take photos with BB-8 and members of the 501st Legion, there will be Star Wars™-themed games, a costume contest, and an appearance by legendary sound designer Ben Burtt. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Live stats and pay-per-view video will be available at dominicanathletics.com/live with live audio provided by the student broadcasters of Penguin Radio. Live updates will also be available on the @dominican_mbb Twitter account.

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