SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California men's basketball team lost a free throw battle against Dixie State on Monday in the Penguins' final home game of the season, a tough 75-65 loss.
Dominican (13-13/9-10 PacWest) led 27-25 on a
Josh Ramirez layup with 2:52 to go in the first half but was outscored 5-0 to finish the half. Dominican trailed 30-27, and at that point, Dixie State (16-8/13-5 PacWest) was 7-of-11 at the free throw line to the Penguins' 4-of-4. By the night's end, The Red Storm made 25 free throws while Dominican made it to the line just 20 times for 18 free points.
Dixie State grew its lead to nine with 16:43 in the second half on a fast break dunk from Trevor Hill.
Matt Hayes rattled home a three-pointer,
Russell Davis drew a charge at the defensive end, and
Josh Ramirez knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a 44-41 game with 13:22 to go. Robbie Nielson answered with arguably the biggest shot of the game, a three-pointer from the left side that extended the lead back to six and prevented the Penguins from tying the game. By the eight minute mark, Dixie State's lead was at double digits. A couple of layups and anotehr pair of free throws saw Dixie State's lead grow to 14 with 2:23 to go.
Both teams attempted 23 field goals in the second half but Dixie State used its size and balanced attack to parade to the free throw for 37 total attempts. The Penguins were also outworked on the glass, 44-26 on the glass, including 21-8 in the second half.
Josh Ramirez led all players with 21 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Penguins.
Christopher Schwartz-Edmisten, who was honored in a pregame Senior Night ceremony alongside fellow seniors
Matt Hayes and Karl Ohrner, finished with 18 points.
Hill, Brandon Simister, and Mark Ogden, Jr. all had 15 points apiece for the Red Storm. Ogden also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Josh Fuller added 11 points and 10 rebounds off of the bench.
The postseason implications loom large as teams look to secure their position in the PacWest Championships, March 3-5 at CU Arena in Irvine, California. With the win, Dixie State remain in the hunt for one of the top two berths and by virtue a bye in the six-team PacWest Championships. Meanwhile, Dominican is in search of one the final two spots. The Penguins will look for help in various matchups as BYU-Hawaii, Chaminade, Fresno Pacific, Point Loma, and UH Hilo are also vying for the final two spots.
Dominican closes out the regular season with a matinee at Fresno Pacific on Saturday, Feb. 27. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
