Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif.— Dominican men's basketball opened up conference play Thursday night at the Conlan Center by hosting the reigning NCAA Division II national finalist, Point Loma Nazarene University. The Sea Lions shot 52.5% from the field, and 37.5% from 3-point range, while holding Dominican to 45.8% from the field, and 6-for-20 on threes to earn an 80-71 win over the Penguins.
 
Sterling Somers lit up the floor, knocking down 11 of 14 from the field for a total of 25 points, four rebounds and four assists. Jordan May helped push the Sea Lions (5-2, 1-0 PacWest) past the Penguins, as he went 5-for-7 from three-point range, and 7-of-12 from the field, collecting 21 points and seven rebounds. 
 
Christopher Williams II led Dominican (0-7, 0-1 PacWest) as its leading scorer of the night, recording 19 points while going 6-for-11 from the field. He also brought down three rebounds and collected one assist. Jaelen Ragsdale and Jordan Williams each had 15 points while Ragsdale also completed a stat line of eight rebounds and three assists. 
 
PLNU ran to a 7-0 lead to begin the first half as May powered the Sea Lions with five points during the stretch. Dominican cut their deficit to just three points as Christopher Williams II took a shot from downtown and Xavier Williams retrieved the long rebound, dishing it off to Lazar Djurovic for a lay-up. On the following offensive possession for the Penguins, Jordan Williams knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 14 a piece. From there, May powered another 10-0 run for the Sea Lions with two back-to-back threes to force Dominican to call a timeout with PLNU leading, 24-14 nearing the midway point of the first half. 
 
Jordan Williams helped the Penguins retaliate, stripping a ball away from Somers and passing it ahead to Ragsdale underneath the basket for a lay-up to make it a 10-point game. But May stayed hot on the offensive end, sinking another three from the corner to extend Point Loma's lead back to 29-16 with 8:01 to go in the half. 
 
Jordan Williams continued to make crucial plays for the Penguins as he knocked down a three from the top of the arc to cut the deficit to 8, but the Sea Lions matched suit as Somers knocked down a hook shot in the paint and drew a foul, completing the 3-point play to give PLNU the 40-30 advantage.
 
With 59 seconds left before the break, Ragsdale drove to the rim to draw a foul on a made basket, and completed the 3-point play from the foul line to bring the score to 35-41. Peter Hewitt helped the Sea Lions take back the momentum as he threw down a dunk that led PLNU into the locker room leading, 43-35.
 
After trading buckets to open up the first half, the Sea Lions caught fire, going on a 10-2 run to take a 57-42 lead. Chase Anderson responded for the Penguins as he cut through the lane with an up-and-under to help Dominican come within 15 of the Sea Lions. On PLNU's next possession, Ragsdale came in-between a Sea Lion pass, and took it to the rim to draw a foul. Ragsdale knocked down one free throw to make it a 45-57 game with 12:03 left to go in regulation.
 
Once again, the Sea Lions didn't skip a beat, and quickly regained a 20-point lead by going on a 10-2 run that was capped off with a dunk from Somers to bring the score to 67-47 with under 10 minutes to go in the second half. 
 
Christopher Williams II helped the Penguins get back in the game by hitting back-to-back threes, and Jordan Williams contributed with a reverse lay-up to cut the Penguins' deficit to 12 with five minutes to play. Dominican continued to apply pressure down the stretch, and with under a minute left, Jordan Williams found Christopher Williams II in the corner for a three to cut Dominican's deficit to 69-80 with 16 seconds left on the clock. Point Loma's bench received a technical foul with 11 seconds to go, and Christopher Williams II knocked down two free throws to bring the Penguins within nine of the Sea Lions, but Dominican would eventually run out of time to complete the comeback. 
 
The Penguins will return to the court this Saturday as they match up against Biola University for Youth Night at the Conlan Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PST and live stats will be available online.