Belmont, Calif. — The Dominican Univertsity of California men's basketball team dropped their first game of conerence play on Wednesday, falling 91-71 to the Academy of Art University. 

The Academy of Art opened the contest with an interception off the opening tip before Deang Deang laid the ball in for two. The quick lay-in kick started an early run for the Urban Knights as they scored 10 consecutive points without a Penguin answer.
 
Justin Brown connected on a jumper to put Dominican on the scoreboard, proving to ignite the Penguin offense as they clawed back with an 8-2 run of its own that was capped off by deep ball courtesy of graduate student Zamaria Odom. The foes traded buckets before Dominican's Adam Parker drained a 3-pointer, then converting on a lay-up on the next possession after a steal by freshman Jake Blazona. Odom then connected on another long-ball and lay-in to emphatically give Dominican a 22-17 advantage at the halfway point of the opening stanza.
 
An Art U layup was answered by another successful shot from beyond the arc, this time by Blazona, but the Urban Knights came back with a trio of successful shots to bring the contest back even. Freshman Jorden Josephs penciled his name onto the score sheet with a 3-pointer to put Dominican back in front, but the Urban Knights answered in the same tone with a pair of 3s of their own to give themselves a 31-28 lead.
 
Odom found himself on his own baseline trailing by three with 3:28 remaining and a swarm of Urban Knights applying full-court pressure following the next possession. With the count nearing the allotted five seconds given to throw the ball in-bounds, sophomore Adam Parker came soaring down the left wing to receive the inbound pass. Parker quickly dished it off to graduate student Anthony Dennis who found himself on a 2-on-1 as the other four Art U defenders were left in the jet stream that Parker left behind, then laying the ball in the basket to cut the deficit to a single point at 35-34.
 
Odom's effort continued on the next possession when another 3-pointer gave Dominican a two-point advantage, but a late Urban Knight push gave Art U a 41-37 lead at the half.
 
Dennis welcomed the foes to the floor with an offensive rebound that he gathered over the head of his defender, then laying the ball in for a quick pair. An Urban Knight bucket was answered with a Michael Diaz corner 3 that kissed the glass on it way in to lessen the deficit to one, but Latrell Williams converted on a layup for the Urban Knights that set the score to 50-44.
 
The Williams lay-in began a 7-0 Art U run that ended when Justin Brown converted on a strong layup that brought the score to 50-44, but another Art U mini-run brought the score to 56-44.
 
The pattern of mini-runs continued, eventually leading to a 14-point 65-51 advantage for the Urban Knights with 11:27 remaining. The onslaught of sharp shooting continued for the Urban Knights as they shot an impressive 77.8% from the field in the second half up to this point, earning a 75-56 lead before Dominican called a timeout with 8:50 left on the clock.  
 
Dominican finally owned a run of its own late in the second half with Justin Brown and Blazona earning close buckets before Odom drained another deep ball to bring Dominican within 12 while also forcing an Art U timeout. The Urban Knights connected soon after play resumed to set their lead back at 14 before forcing one of Dominican's 23 turnovers on the night. The Art U attack resulted in an 81-63 lead, preceding yet another Odom 3-pointer before Justin Brown tallied another layup to bring the score to 81-68 at the final media timeout.
 
A nifty no-look dish from Blazona to Justin Brown resulted in an easy pair of Penguin points after Art U drained two shots from the charity stripe coming out of the media pause. The 13-point disadvantage would be as close as Dominican would get as the Urban Knights strutted out of Walter Gleason Gym with a decisive 91-71 victory.
 
Odom finished with a team-high 24 points while Justin Brown notched a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Parker rounded out the Penguins scorers that earned double digit points, finishing the contest with 10.
 
Dominican will now prepare for a Saturday afternoon matchup when Fresno Pacific visits the Conlan Center at 4 p.m.