SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican Men's Basketball held on late to defeat Cal State Dominguez Hills, 95-94 in their home opener of the season Wednesday night. 

Senior forward Cedric Thomas led the Penguins (2-1) in scoring with 26 points and went a perfect 12-12 at the free throw line after drawing 10 fouls in the game. Junior guard Sam Averbuck had a great all-around night for the Penguins, finishing with 18 points on 58.3 percent shooting from the field and collecting nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Christopher Williams also showcased his talents with a career-high 16 points, hitting 4 of 5 from 3-point range, to go with four rebounds and three assists. 

Cal State Dominguez Hills (1-2) capitalized on several Dominican miscues, scoring 30 points off turnovers, but it wasn't enough to best the Penguins. Gabriel Hicks led the Toros with 17 points, while Michael Chavers added 17 points of his own to go with three steals. 

The teams battled back-and-forth for much of the game as neither team was able to build a lead greater than six for the first 38 minutes. Junior point guard Ryan Hiepler made his mark in the final five minutes as he connected on a 3-pointer to put the Penguins in front for good with 4:25 left in the game. Hiepler then drew a foul on a 3-point attempt from the top of the key with 2:45 remaining and knocked down all three free throws to start a 5-0 run to give Dominican the largest lead of the game at 88-80 as we headed to the final two minutes. CSUDH frantically fought back closing the gap to three twice, but Dominican was nails from the line only missing one shot from the charity stripe in the final minute to seal the game. 

Averbuck quickly made his mark on the game, connecting on his first 3-point attempt of the game before lobbing a ball inside the paint to Ezra Talbert for the easy two to spark a 7-2 run in the first two minute. CSUDH chipped away at Dominican's lead and eventually tied it at 13 on a make behind the arc from Alex Garcia with 12:46 remaining in the half. Colten Kresl hit a 3-pointer on the Toros next offensive possession and they built an 18-13 lead with under 12 minutes until the break.

Dominican then began to pound the ball inside as Thomas and sophomore forward Christian Futch each laid the ball in during a 9-0 run to retake the lead. With just under six minutes to go in the half, sophomore point guard Jordan Williams found Talbert cutting to the rim on an inbounds play for the easy layup to give the Penguins the 26-20 lead. CSUDH once again battled back and Hicks drew a foul and knocked down both of his free throws to tie the game at 30 with four minutes to go in the half.

A step-back 3 from C. Williams II put Dominican up, 35-32 in crunch time and the Penguins secured a stop on the defensive end to get the ball back. Thomas drove down the lane on the ensuing possession before kicking it down the sideline to Futch, who found Averbuck on the right wing for another make behind the arc to extend the lead back to six with 2:39 left in the period. The teams traded buckets for the final two minutes and Dominican entered the locker room with a 44-40 lead.

The Toros quickly cut the lead to one after Michael Chavers laid the ball in through contact and then hit the ensuing free throw 15 seconds into the period. Thomas answered, backing in his defender on the block and sealing him for the layup to keep the Penguins in the lead, 46-43. The Penguins were unable to keep the lead for long as Kresl knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 52 with 16 minutes remaining. 

Averbuck caught his defender with the pump fake before hitting a running floater and then got loose in transition for another layup to give the Penguins a 61-56 lead with 14:49 left on the clock.

The Penguins will look to continue its strong start as they travel to Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday to face the Otters at 3 p.m. PDT. Live video and stats will be available online.