SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Dominican men's basketball was able to hold Biola University in check for most of the game, but it was unable to maintain the momentum in the second falling 75-66 Thursday night at the Conlan Center. 

Senior forward Cedric Thomas ended the night as the Penguins' (6-9, 2-7 PacWest) leading scorer with 18 points to go with four assists and two steals. Graduate transfer Ezra Talbert returned from injury to finish with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc.

Trevor Treinen finished with 26 points, four assists, three rebound, and a steal for Biola (9-6, 5-4 PacWest). Alex Talma added a perfect 10-for-10 performance for the field to finish with 23 points and nine rebounds. 

The Eagles were able to shake off a slow start as Talma scored six points to power an 8-2 run for the early lead, but Talbert sank his first 3-pointer of the night to end the run and shift the momentum back to the home squad. On Dominican's next possession Christian Futch shoveled a pass over to Jordan Williams for a reverse layup to tie the game and Jared Harper followed suit with a jumper to give the Penguins the 14-12 lead at the midway point of the half. 

After trading buckets for the next five minutes, Talma nailed a three from the top of the arc to give the Eagles back the lead at 23-20. Dominican responded and good ball movement led Lazar Djurovic to find Christopher Williams II cutting through the lane for his second uncontested layup to retake the lead at 27-23 with 2:49 left on the clock. Talbert continued his hot shooting coming back in for the final minute of the half to a 3-pointer from the corner and the Penguins took a 32-29 lead into the break. 

The teams began the second half trading points for the first seven minutes of the half until Alex Wright connected on a 3-pointer to spark the Eagles on a 9-0 run, building an 8-point lead with 11:34 left in the second half. Thomas and Futch hit two quick buckets to trim the deficit back to four, but Treinen knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing to halt the Penguins momentum. 

Averbuck hit a three late in the game to keep Dominican within striking distance, but Biola was able to find the answer to hold the Penguins at bay for the remainder of the game.

The Penguins will visit Fresno Pacific University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. PST. Live Video and stats will be available online.