San Rafael, Calif. – Dominican University of California men's basketball earned an inspiring victory over Chaminade University of Hawaii on Wednesday, reigning victorious with a 56-53 victory as it earned its first conference win of the young season.

"I'm really proud of how we responded," head coach Justin Argenal said. "We knew Chaminade was going to be a tough opponent, they're really well coached and very physical, but we've had some physical practices and we were able to match their physicality and even take it to another level. We were almost even on the glass, which is impressive since they're currently the best rebounding team in the conference, and we're all just really proud of the plays we made down the stretch. I'm really happy for the team.'

Dominican fell victim to yet another slow start, going down 12-2 in the opening seven minutes of the game. A pair of Adam Parker charity shots brought Dominican back into the game with freshman Jorden Josephs burying a contested layup soon after.

The combatants traded long-balls with freshman Jake Blazona and graduate student Zamaria Odom both notching 3s for Dominican to bring the Penguins within three. Chaminade notched the fourth and final 3-pointer of the acquisition to put itself up 18-12, but graduate student Justin Brown laid claim on his space under the rim, backing his defender to the hoop before hooking a shot that rippled the twine.

Josephs put up a reverse-poster when he met his man at the rim and denied a two-handed slam off the backboard before rolling out the red carpet on the opposite side of the floor for an Odom 3-pointer, all of which preceded a Troy Murphy Jr. foul shot that brought the score even with 4:23 remaining in the opening half. A pair of buckets brought Chaminade back in front by five, preceding a minute-long shooting clinic hosted by Parker that ensued as he posted five points on back-to-back possessions. Murphy Jr. brought the teams back even with 1:52 to go when he hit the deepest possible two-point shot ,draining the corner bucket before Chaminade capitalized on another long ball. Odom added another pair before time expired, bringing the score to 28-27 in favor of the Silverswords at the half.

"I saw the player leaking behind me before they sent him the pass, and I knew I had to get there and meet him at the rim, no easy buckets because that's what coach always preaches to us," Josephs said.

A 7-0 Chaminade run set the tone for the opening moments of the half as it increased its lead to 35-27, forcing a Penguin stoppage of play. Parker got up well above the rim before laying the ball in after the teams took the floor, giving Dominican its first basket of the half. The Silverswords gathered their own rebound on their next trip down the floor, capitalizing on the added opportunity before draining another bucket on its ensuing possession to bring the score to 39-29.

Justin Brown converted on a pair of charity shots to bring Dominican back within eight, preceding a nifty play that included Blazona's full court vision as he sent a no-look pass into the corner, finding the hands of redshirt junior Chase Anderson who nailed a deep 2-pointer from his standing position. Blazona continued to snatch the momentum from Chaminade as he smirked while lying on his back under the basket after drawing an offensive foul, helping Dominican later convert on a basket from in-close courtesy of Parker's soft touch. A media timeout was called soon-after with the score reading 39-36 as the players sought internal guidance from their respective coaches.

"When we went through the scouting reports, we found out that a lot of their players like to drive to the right," Blazona said. "I knew right away when he caught that ball that he was going to try and be physical and go to the rim. When he caught the ball, I met him right at the spot under the hoop and took him right in the chest, then took another one soon after. It was two big momentum plays that resulted in turnovers and changes of possession."

Graduate student Michael Diaz capped off a Dominican 10-0 run when play resumed, burying a 3-pointer to tie the game at 39 aside. Chaminade went up by a basket courtesy of a driving layup, but Blazona stole the momentum back abruptly when he forced a steal before finding Murphy Jr. who capped off the play with a mid-range jumper to put the score back even. Justin Brown then came up big with a block within five feet of the rim on Chaminade's next possession, later proving to be important as Odom drained a long ball of his own, one of four 3s he tallied on the night while shooting 100% from deep, giving Dominican a 46-43 advantage with 5:57 to go.

"Going 4-for-4, I give all the thanks to my teammates," Odom said. "They find me and have the confidence in me to shoot those shots. I was looking for Justin (Brown) on the post on one of my late 3s and he told me to shoot it, and it's that type of confidence that helps me knock those shots down."

Dominican clung to its slim advantage as time continued to wind down as Anderson hit a clutch 3-pointer that put Dominican up four with under four minutes remaining. The three-ball was answered with a Chaminade layup, put Odom continued to leave his mark on the game when he sank another ball from behind the arc to distance Dominican by five. Chaminade came within three after a pair of successful foul shots were tallied by Joseph Smoyer, but Anderson added a chef's kiss to an incredible evening when he notched a pair of free throws to seal the deal for Dominican, eventually giving it a 56-53 victory after electing to allow Chaminade to convert on an uncontested layup while purposely avoiding the foul as time expired.

"It's so significant getting a conference win. Our goal is to make playoffs and to have a deep run in the playoffs. We're trying to go as far as we can this year," Odom said. "Especially with a new coach and a new squad, having cohesiveness in a win like this helps us keep rolling and we're going to use that momentum going into our road wins this weekend."

Odom led all scorers with 14 points while also adding six rebounds. Anderson added 12 points with Parked rounding out the three scorers with double-digit points as he notched 11. Justin Brown brought down eight rebounds for the team-high with Blazona earning a trio of points and five assists.