SAN RAFAEL, Calif.— Dominican men's basketball battled back and forth with Sonoma State University in the first day of the PacWest/CCAA Tip Off Challenge, but the Seawolves prevailed in a tight contest, taking the 87-82 win over the Penguins Friday night in the Conlan Center. 
 
Sonoma State (1-0) earned their first win of the season behind Isaac Davidson, recording 24 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal, while shooting 9-for-15 from the field. Michael Smith also contributed on the offensive end with 21 points, 4 rebounds and an assist, shooting 7-for-10 from the field. 
 
Junior guard Jordan Williams sparked the Penguins (0-1) on the offensive end, collecting 25 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, all while going 11-for-16 on shots made. Junior guard Jaelen Ragsdale also led Dominican down the stretch, adding 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. 
 
As the Penguins faced a 14-20 deficit with 11:43 to go in the first half, Jordan Williams sank a three pointer to bring the Penguins within three of the Seawolves, but Nick Klarman quickly matched it on the other end with a three of his own to push the lead back up to six. 
 
With 10:47 on the clock, Ragsdale drove through the lane and earned two free throws, sinking both to make it a 21-23 game. The Penguins then forced another Seawolves turnover, but couldn't take advantage of the possession. In turn, Sonoma took a fast break down court and Michael Smith drew a shooting foul from Romeo Mays behind the arc. Smith sank all three free throws to extend the Seawolves lead to 26-21. 
 
The Penguins retaliated by going on a 5-0 run, capped off with a midrange jumper from Christopher Williams II to grant Dominican with their first lead of the night at 27-26. Dominican and Sonoma State traded buckets back and forth, and with 2:33 left in the half, Davidson knocked down a crucial three to give SSU a 6-point lead. Ragsdale hit a last-second three at the end of the half to cut the Penguin deficit back to 39-41 heading into the break.
 
The penguins continued their momentum into the second half as Ragsdale hit another three-pointer with 16:31 on the clock to keep the Penguins within two points of the Seawolves.
 
Following a media timeout, Sonoma state earned a defensive stop and Davidson rushed down the sidelines to find Eric Nielsen in the paint for a two-handed dunk to give the Seawolves a spark of energy at the midway point of the second half. The Penguins quickly responded by going on a 9-3 run as Jordan Williams and Sam Averbuck hit back-to-back threes to take a 56-54 lead. 
 
With 2:32 minutes remaining in regulation, Christopher Williams hit another three to keep the Penguins' hopes high of making a comeback in late minutes. But just as the Penguins applied a full-court press, Wesley Gilbert found an opening down court, and Klarman found him under the basket for a dunk to extend the Seawolves' lead to 82-78. 
 
When it looked as though the dunk from Gilbert solidified the game, Ragsdale went coast-to-coast for a layup to cut the deficit to 82-85 with 23 seconds left. After Sonoma inbounded the ball, Jordan Williams and Ragsdale trapped Kenny Olsem at the Seawolves baseline, forcing a turnover. But the Penguins were unable to capitalize on the next offensive attack, allowing SSU to sneak away with the win. 
 
The Penguins return to the court Saturday night to face San Francisco State in the final game of the PacWest/CCAA Tip Off Challenge at 7:30 p.m. PDT in the Conlan Center. Live video and stats will be available online.