FRESNO, Calif. – Dominican men's basketball fought back from an early deficit but was unable to maintain the momentum in the second half falling 74-56 Tuesday night to Fresno Pacific University at the Special Events Center. 

Sophomore forward Christian Futch helped Dominican (6-10, 2-8 PacWest) bounce back from a double-digit deficit in the first half, leading all scorers with 18 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Sam Averbuck and senior forward Cedric Thomas each recorded 10 points, while Thomas tallied a double, double with 11 rebounds. 

The Sunbirds (7-8, 4-6 PacWest) were led by Aamondae Coleman's 17 points and nine rebounds, to lift FPU in the second half. Adrian Antunez added 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting from field to go with five assists. 

Elijah Hill gave the Sunbirds the momentum early as he turned a stolen ball on one end into an uncontested dunk on the other to lift them to an early 4-point lead. Jordan Williams got to the rim to cut the lead to one moments later, but FPU responded as Antunez drove to the lane and sent a cross-court pass to A.J. Kirby for a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 12-5. 

The Sunbirds used heavy pressure to force seven turnovers within the first eight minutes of the game to keep the Penguins off balance. Averbuck stepped around a screen to hit a three from the left wing near the midway point of the half to keep the lead at single digits and give Dominican some momentum.

After the Sunbirds extended its lead to 10, Averbuck knocked down his second 3-pointer to spark an 11-2 run that shifted the momentum back to the Penguins and cut the lead to 31-26 with 3:35 left in the half. Nehemiah Allen flew down the lane for a monster dunk to end the run, but it was all Dominican for the final two minutes. 

Futch answered on the other end with a layup and then got the Penguin bench to their feet with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to cut the lead to two with one minute left in the half. After Domincan forced the Sunbirds into a bad shot on the defensive end, Thomas drove the lane and drew a foul to go to the line for the 33-33 tie at the half. 

The Sunbirds reclaimed the momentum quickly in the second half with a 9-3 run as Antunez hit a 3-pointer before finding Hill on an alley-oop in transition to extend 40-35. The Penguins would not go away as Williams knocked down a pair of free throws before stealing the ball from Hill and taking it to the rim for the 42-42 tie with 13:29 left on the clock. 

Fresno Pacific was able to build a narrow lead, but Dominican kept it within two possessions for most of the next eight minutes. Toby Christensen was able to put the game out of reach as he sparked 12-0 run with seven points to extend the lead to 19 at the one minute mark.

The Penguins will return home to face Academy of Art on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. PST. Dominican will be celebrating NBBA Night at the Conlan Center with youth participants (eighth grade or younger), wearing their jersey receiving free admission. Live video and stats will also be available online.