HAYWARD, Calif.— Dominican men's basketball fell to an early lead and was unable to cut the difference down the stretch as Cal State East Bay held on for a 79-73 win Friday night at Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
Second chance points proved costly for the Penguins (0-3), as Cal State East Bay (3-1) fought for ten offensive rebounds and took advantage by scoring 16 second-chance points, and 36 total points from the paint. Zafir Williams lead the Pioneers in points with fourteen and six rebounds. Ant Navarrete followed closely behind with thirteen points, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
 
Senior guard Sam Averbuck exploded for 21 points and four rebounds, going 7-for-11 from the field, and 5-for-6 from three-point range. Junior guard Jaelen Ragsdale added 10 points of his own, but Averbuck and Ragsdale were the only players to hit double-digit figures for the Penguins. 
 
After a couple minutes into play, Jesse Galloway intercepted a pass from the Penguins and passed it ahead to Williams who forced Dominican to foul, allowing Williams to sink two free throws. Jordan Williams retaliated for the Penguins, streaking in between a pass beyond the three-point line and took it the distance for a lay-up to tie the game at seven, 3:13 into regulation. 
 
The Pioneers responded by going on a 16-4 run, capped off with a rebound from John Duff who took it coast-to-coast for a lay-up to break the game open and give CSUEB a 23-11 lead with 10:11 to go in the half. 
 
Averbuck knocked down a three in an effort to get the Penguin offense rolling, but East Bay refused to let up, running to another 14-3 run to extend the Pioneer's lead back to 36-17 as Williams collected his own rebound from a missed three, and put it back up for two. On Dominican's way down the court, Josh Dhatt capped off the run by sneaking in between a pass in the paint, and took it all the way for a lay-up on the other end. The Penguins and Pioneers traded buckets throughout the final three minutes of the half, and Dominican faced a 22-40 deficit going into the locker room. 
 
Returning from a media timeout, with 11:55 left to go in the second half, Christopher Williams II helped spark a Dominican 8-2 run, cutting through the paint for a layup, to bring the Penguins within 16 of the Pioneers. 


After trading buckets, Chase Anderson led the Penguins towards a comeback attempt with four minutes to go in regulation. Anderson connected with Averbuck beyond the arc for a three to force CSUEB to call a timeout as DU came within 14. Following the timeout, Anderson forced a turnover from Duff and pressured him to foul to keep Anderson from earning an easy bucket on the other end. Anderson sank both free throws to cut the deficit to 60-72.
 
With 42 seconds left in the second half, Jordan Williams recovered a loose ball and took it the other way for a lay-up to bring Dominican within nine of the Pioneers. 
 
With seven seconds left and Dominican forced to foul to extend the game, Averbuck drew a foul on Wyatt Maker on his way to the rim to complete the three-point play. In the following possession, Averbuck stole another pass away from the Pioneers and took it all the way for a lay-up to bring the score to 70-77. Jordan Williams got off a three-point shot in the final second of regulation for the final score of 73-79 as the Penguins ran out of time to complete the comeback. 
 
Dominican returns to the court Monday, Nov. 25^th as they travel to Carson to take on Cal State Dominguez Hills. Live video and stats will be available online.