San Rafael, CALIF. – Dominican University of California (5-4, 2-1) earned a decisive 79-56 victory over conference foe Fresno Pacific (2-7, 0-3) behind a full team effort on Saturday.
 
Freshman Jaayden Bush started the game in emphatic fashion with a two-handed slam to welcome the teams to the floor. Another Bush basket came moments later before Fresno Pacific earned its first bucket in the form of a finger roll from Marten Maide before a Bush triple gave Dominican a 7-4 advantage at the first media timeout.
 
Sophomore Jake Blazona contributed a midrange jumper when the teams broke from the timeout, marking the first non-Bush bucket of the game for Dominican. Maide made two more free throws following the Blazona basket before Isaac Peralta added a long 2-pointer to cut the deficit to one. Freshman PJ Volz earned a contested lay-in on the next trip down the floor for Dominican, setting the score at 11-8 for the next media timeout.
 
Williams completed a three-point play following a highly contested bank-shot that drew a foul before Dominican forced a turnover via errant pass that put the Penguins back on offense. Dominican was unable to capitalize on the opportunity as FPU then came down the floor and slammed the ball home for a pair of points that cut the Dominican lead to four. Bush found a wide-open McCutchen under the hoop, dishing him a picture-perfect gift with McCutchen's thank-you coming in the form of an easy lay-in that put the Penguins back up four with the score reading 16-12 at the media timeout.
 
A McCutchen shoulder shrug led to a bucket under the rim as the teams broke from their respective benches, preceding a Kyle Monk finger roll for the visitors. Garrett Siebels welcomed himself to the stat sheet with a four-point play after getting fouled from deep, bringing the score to 22-16. The teams traded shots from deep with Siebels hitting the latter to keep Dominican at distance before Bush hit an around-the-world layup to avoid his defender and put his team back up by six before the final media timeout of the half.
 
Volz hit a shot from zip-code distance to put Dominican up nine after the timeout before FPU found success from the foul stripe. Junior Shafee Mumin emphatically swatted a ball with 1:53 remaining to bring his bench to their feet as the positively destructive play happened directly in front his squad, preceding a monstrous slam by Williams as Dominican clung to the momentum. Bush completed a selfless Volz play as the two found themselves under the rim before Volz dished the pass around his defender to an open Bush who put away an easy lay-in while momentum stayed in Dominican's favor. Siebels added one last bucket on Dominican's final possession of the half before a very late foul sent the visitors to the foul line with the Penguins eventually enjoying a 36-27 halftime lead.
 
Fresno Pacific all but erased the Dominican advantage with back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the game back to a one possession contest. A pair of successful McCutchen foul shots preceded a Bush tally that put the home side back up seven before another McCutchen basket set the score to 42-33. The Sunbirds' third 3-pointer kept them close as Dominican enjoyed a six-point advantage at the first media timeout of the half.
 
Another FPU long ball cut the lead to three following the media timeout, later falling flat from the free throw line as the Sunbirds tried to score its first points of the half from inside the arc. Siebels took a play from the Fresno Pacific playbook with a 3-pointer of his own before a McCutchen two-handed slam put the home team back up by eight. Senior Matt Hallam and Williams double-teamed a Sunbirds' player to force a turnover before Williams added a pair on the other side of the court, capping off the play with a long jumper.
 
A 7-0 Dominican run put the home side up 11 before a Ryan Abbott layup finally stopped the streak with the score reading 56-45. Volz drained a 3-pointer to put Dominican up 14 following a Fresno Pacific timeout, but a Sunbirds' three point play set the score back to an 11 point deficit. More McCutchen free throws followed as Dominican's defense continued to stand tall while enjoying a 13 point lead at the next media timeout.
 
Bush added to his point total after a Justin Brown assist led Bush to the promised land with a driving layup, following it up with a 3-pointer on Dominican's next possession. Kendricks added a shot from downtown to the visitors' total to bring them back within 14, but another Williams' bucket kept Dominican well ahead of the opposing side. Dominican enjoyed more points down the stretch while eventually smiling from ear-to-ear because of a 22 point victory, beating Fresno Pacific 76-54.
 
Dominican saw four of its players with double digit point totals as Siebels and Bush led the way with 19 and 17 apiece, also seeing 17 points from Volz and 12 from McCutchen.
 
Dominican now looks ahead to Wednesday when it plays host to visiting Chaminade University at 7:30 p.m. PST.