SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – In contention for a tournament spot on the final day of the regular season, the Dominican University of California men's basketball team dropped a 95-88 result to Hawaii Hilo on Saturday and finished at No. 8 in the PacWest standings.
The Penguins held a 44-38 lead at halftime but the visiting UHH squad rallied in the second half to secure the seven-point victory. Dominican finishes the 2016-17 season with a 10-16 overall record and a 9-11 mark in the PacWest.
Prior to the start of Saturday's finale, the Penguins celebrated the academic and athletic achievements of their six seniors:
Quentin Mendoza,
Russell Davis,
Ryo Tawatari,
Josh Ramirez,
Josh Armstrong,
Henry Uwadiae and
Seth Turner.
Of Dominican's 88 points on Saturday, the seniors combined for 50. Five Penguins finished in double figures with junior
Reverend Maduakor leading the way with 18 points. Tawatari contributed in many areas of the game, totaling 15 points to go along with team bests of nine assists and five steals.
Also tallying double-digit point totals were
Jeremiah Gray and Armstrong with 14 apiece and Ramirez adding 10. After setting the program's single-season three-point record on Thursday, Gray added two more treys on Saturday to raise his 2016-17 total to 79.
As a team, Dominican shot 47.1 percent from the field. The defense couldn't slow down the Vulcans' Parker Farris, who racked up a school-record 47 points that featured six three-pointers and 15 free throws.
With just three minutes played in Saturday's game, Dominican had built up a 13-4 lead after a Maduakor dunk and Ramirez layup capped off that run. The gap widened to double digits for most of the first half, until UHH chipped away at the led and pulled to within six points heading into halftime.
The Vulcans pulled even with the Penguins less than two minutes into the second half. Although Dominican seized the advantage once again for a few minutes of action, UHH stole it back at the 12:22 mark with a dunk by Randan Berinobis.
The Penguins stayed within striking distance and even tied it up at 72-72 when Maduakor knocked down a three-pointer at the 7:09 mark. That basket was set up by a Davis steal on the other end of the floor. Farris sank a pair of free throws on the next UHH possession and the visitors kept the lead for the remainder of the contest.
