Box Score RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Dominican men's basketball kicked off 2018 with a road loss to Cal Baptist 84-60 at the CBU Events Center.
 
Junior Cedric Thomas led the Penguins with 12 points, two assists and three rebounds in the game. Freshman Jordan Williams led Dominican in assists with four for the night.
 
For the Lancers, Jordan Heading led the team with 23 points, four rebounds and five assists, including a 50 percent 3-point percentage in the victory.
 
Dominican held a seven-point advantage over Cal Baptist in points off turnovers, while Cal Baptist grabbed 22 offensive rebounds for 25 second chance points.
 
The Lancers (11-2, 4-1 PacWest) held off the Penguins (3-9, 2-3 PacWest) with their strong defense, not allowing Dominican to score in double digits until there was 8:57 left in the first half. The Penguins shot 35.3 percent from the field in the first half, and ended up with a 37.5 percent overall from the floor. Despite a low shooting percentage, Dominican was able to keep the Lancers' lead within 14 points as they trailed 42-28 to end the first half.
 
The second half would not be kind to Dominican as Cal Baptist started out with a 12-0 surge, the first six points coming from Kalidou Diouf. The Penguins stopped the run when freshman Christian Futch scored a layup in the paint with 14:05 left. Dominican would shoot 40 percent from the field and attempted more three-pointers (11) in the second half. However, the Lancers' early lead would be too much for the Penguins, as they maintained 16-point advantage for most of the half.
 
Dominican will head to Utah to take on Dixie State Friday at 7 p.m. MST at the Burns Arena. Live stats and video will be available online.