SAN DIEGO – Dominican men's basketball was unable to slow No. 10 Point Loma Nazarene University's powerful offense in a 96-57 loss Thursday evening at Golden Gymnasium.
 
Sam Averbuck led the Penguins (6-12, 2-10 PacWest) with 13 points, while Christian Futch added eight points and five rebounds. Daulton Hommes scored a game-high 36 points for the Sea Lions (17-2, 13-0 PacWest) to go with seven rebounds.
 
Point Loma pounded the ball inside to start the game on a 10-2 run highlighted by a Preston Beverly dunk. Ezra Talbert was able to break the momentum with a layup and Xavier Williams connected on a 3-pointer to give the Penguins some momentum at the 16-minute mark. The game remained close and Averbuck hit a 3-pointer for Dominican to cut the lead to 16-14 with 13 minutes left in the half.
 
Kaden Anderson scored the next five points for the Sea Lions to help them get some breathing room before Brock Mackenzie sparked an 8-point run with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 32-18 with 9:27 on the clock. Talbert again helped the Penguins slow the momentum as he scored the next five points for the Penguins.
 
Jordan Williams then swooped inside the paint for a layup and added a pair of free throws to get Dominican back within single-digits, trailing 35-27 with six minutes until the break. It was all PLNU from there as Hommes bookended a 17-2 run with a pair of 3-pointers to give the Sea Lions a 52-29 lead at the break.
 
The Penguins kept the first five minutes of the second half even as they were able to slowly trim the lead back to 20 points on a pair of free throws by Cedric Thomas. The Sea Lions responded and Hommes scored nine points to end a 13-0 run and extend the lead to over 30.
 
Dominican was unable to slow the momentum this time as PLNU continued to add to its lead down the stretch.
 
The Penguins will continue its road trip Saturday with a matchup against Concordia University Irvine at 7:30 p.m. PST at CU Arena. Live stats and video will be available online.