Dominican University men's basketball squandered a 22-point first half lead as the Urban Knights of the Academy of Art University left the Conlan Center with a 72-67 victory. 
 
A pair of Academy of Art steals gave the Urban Knights the advantage right out of the gate, leading 5-0 after their first two possessions. Christian Futch answered the bell with a midrange jumper followed by a steal, but a quick Dominican possession led to another basket by the Urban Knights, this time courtesy of Christian Popoola.  
 
Jaelen Ragsdale was the first Penguin of the night to see the free throw line after a strong 22-28 team performance from the stripe the night before, converting on one of the two. Romeo Mays found himself in both the same geographic and statistical locations on the Penguins next trip down the court, bringing the score to 7-4 for the Academy of Art. 
 
All PacWest Preseason Team member Stefan Milivojevic earned himself a rare four-point play by converting on a foul shot after being fouled from deep, a play that would soon be answered by a long jumper and a deep ball off the hands of Ragsdale and Chris Williams. Adam Parker then joined the party from the parking lot, followed by another Chris Williams three pointer, giving Dominican three 3-pointers in its last four possessions and a 17-11 advantage on an 11-0 run. 
 
Senior Thomas Faustka checked into the game for the first time after a timeout was taken by the Urban Knights and immediately made his presence felt with a conversion from the foul line before Chris Williams added to his 3-point count. The 17-0 Dominican run would end after Academy of Art's Dante Williams stole the ball at half court and converted on an easy layup, bringing the score to 21-13 at the media timeout. 
 
Dominican was bailed out by a flurry of missed Urban Knight opportunities from in close coming out of the timeout, missing on four consecutive layups or short-ranged jumpers on the same possession. Chris Williams continued to stay hot from deep on Dominican's next trip down the floor after the ball was finally secured, giving Dominican a 24-13 lead. With just over eight minutes left in the half, Chris Williams was a perfect 5 of 5 from deep while leading both teams with 17 points.
 
Troy Murphy earned his first bucket on the Dominican court after a defensive steal from Chris Williams sent him darting down the floor for a driving layup. A pair of successful shots from the foul line were traded by the teams on their ensuing possessions, followed by a Dante Williams layup for the Urban Knights. Dominican's Adam Parker showed his strength under the offensive rim with a drawn foul on his layup, followed-up by a corner three and a Ragsdale layup, giving Dominican a 40-17 lead with 4:28 remaining in the half. 
 
The 3's kept dropping for Dominican in the first half as Parker continued to etch his name under the 3-point column alongside Chris Williams, with the pair of players shooting all nine 3's for Dominican up to this point, going 8 of 9 from beyond the arc. 
 
Chase Anderson found himself at the line with 2:03 remaining in the half after drawing a blocking foul, converting on one of two from the line. Chris Williams climbed a ladder and kept the momentum on Dominican's side with a block for the Penguins before the Dominican defense forced an Urban Knight turnover to end the half. 

Strong shooting gave Dominican a 46-24 lead at the half, boasting 80% shooting from deep and 60% shooting overall. Chris Williams and Parked led all scorers in the first half, tallying 17 and 11 points, respectively. The Penguins held the Urban Knights to just 23.5% shooting from the field in the half, going just 2 of 9 from 3-point range. 
 
The Academy of Art rewrote its narrative almost immediately in the second half, starting with a pair of jumpers and a single free throw before Dominican found the twine courtesy of a Mays reverse lay-in after securing an offensive rebound. The Urban Knights enjoyed an 11-2 run to start the half, cutting the deficit to 13 points. By the first media timeout of the half, Dominican increased its lead to 15 with the score reading 50-35. 
 
The Dominican lead continued to dwindle as Jacob Smith banked-in a deep ball to cut the lead to 10. Chris Williams hit a floater on the other end of the court but Dante Williams answered for the Academy of Art with a layup. The Urban Knights drew a Dominican offensive foul before converting on a mid-range jumper to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since Dominican led 24-13 at the 10:02 mark of the first half. With 11:26 remaining in the contest, Dominican led 53-45. 
 
Milivojevic drained a 3-pointer when the teams came out of the media timeout to cut the lead to five, a long ball that would soon be answered by a Chris Williams reverse lay-in. Needing a stop, Christian Futch tallied a block on the defensive end soon after checking into the game, then converted on a short jumper to give Dominican a nine-point lead. Jacob Smith was successful on a 3-pointer soon after, followed by a Milivojevic layup to bring the lead back down to just four. With 8:18 to go in the game, Dominican led 57-53. 
 
A finger roll from Jalen Lovett made it a single possession game and forced Dominican to call a timeout with 7:55 remaining. Futch was sent to the line when the teams came out of the timeout, converting on one of two shots. Milivojevic continued to make himself known with a layup on the Urban Knights ensuing possession before forcing a turnover on his own defensive end. After Lovett missed a foul shot that would have tied the game at the time, Murphy Jr. connected on a 3-pointer to give Dominican a much-needed four-point lead. This deep ball marked the first time Dominican hit a 3-pointer in the half after shooting 80% from deep in the first half. 
 
Dante Williams drew an and-1 off Murphy Jr. on the Urban Knights next possession, connecting on the free throw and drawing the game within one. Futch would continue to protect the rim with a block before Ragsdale was sent off to the races and finished with a driving lay-in.

Mays finished on a reverse lay-in as the shot clock expired on the next possession, but the Academy of Art answered with a 3-pointer. At the third and final media timeout, Dominican harnessed a 65-63 lead with Milivojevic headed to the line. 
 
Milivojevic connect on one of two shots from the line, a shot that was answered by an Anderson jumper for Dominican on the other end. The teams traded missed 3-pointers before Ragsdale checked the clock and let time wind down, but with the clock reading just seven seconds, the Urban Knights forced a turnover and converted on a driving lay-in while getting fouled. The foul shot was successful, tying the game at 67. 
 
Lovett gave the Academy of Art the lead with another lay-in before the Urban Knights forced an offensive foul and brought the ball back the other way before calling a timeout with 15.9 seconds remaining. Milivojevic drew a foul that sent him to the foul line, converting on both and giving the Academy of Art a two-possession lead. Ragsdale couldn't connect on his layup with just under five seconds remained, and Lovett sealed the 72-67 victory with a successful free throw. 
 
Dominican finished the game 9 for 19 from deep after going 8 of 10 in the first half, shooting 48% from the field. Milivojevic's 14 second half points made him the game leader with 22 points overall, while Chris Williams finished with 21.