HILO, Hawaii- Dominican men's basketball opened their three-game Hawaii road-trip with a Thursday night clash against Hawaii Hilo. The Vulcans dominated in the paint and on the boards giving them a 66 to 54 victory.

Early in the first half Hilo was clicking on offense jumping out to a double-digit lead. The Penguins wouldn't let that rattle them as they answered with a run of their own led by juniors Brendon Johnson and Nathan Ilunga. Johnson hit some timely three-pointers and Ilunga made his presence felt in the paint.

Ilunga finished the night one rebound and point away from his second double-double of the season. Dominican was able to erase the early deficit and cut the Vulcan's lead to only four points heading into halftime.

Seniors Dale Currie and Marcus McCutchen came on strong in the second half. McCutchen was consistently driving the ball hard in the paint which resulted in Hilo sending him to the line seven times. He finished with 12 points and six boards. Currie was the floor general keeping the Penguins within striking distance by finding holes in the defense and knocking down his jumpers.

Hilo pulled away by enforcing their will in the paint. The Vulcans outscored the Penguins 38 to 18 in that department.

Dominican will look to bounce back as they travel to HPU Saturday Jan. 13^th at 6:30 HPT.