SAN RAFAEL, Calif.- Dominican men's basketball started 2024 off with a home PacWest clash against Hawaii Pacific Thursday night. The Penguins had the lead for most of the game until it came down to crunch time, and the Sharks were able to sneak by with a 65 to 60 victory.

Ilunga was a force to be reckoned with from the first tip to the final buzzer. He dominated on both sides going for 16 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and swatting three blocks. The Sharks had no answer for Ilunga even trying to send extra help, but they found out that didn't work. This marked his first double-double of the season.

Marcus McCutchen and PJ Volz helped Ilunga in the scoring department going for 15 and 12 points. McCutchen brought down seven boards to go along with his 15 points while Volz knocked down two from deep range.

The Penguins offense came out on fire to start the game with Ilunga responsible for five of the first 10 points. Then midway through the first half Dominican held a 13-point lead. McCutchen capped off the first half as he hit a 30 foot three-pointer at the buzzer to keep the momentum on the Dominican side.

In the second half, the Penguins went back to what the Sharks couldn't stop, and that was feeding Ilunga. Senior Dale Currie and junior Brendon Johnson knocked down some big shots as the Sharks were climbing back into the game. Currie and Johnson finished with seven points each.

HPU had their offense rolling in the final minutes, and the Penguins just couldn't get their shot to fall giving the Sharks the 65 to 60 victory.

Next up for Dominican is a home non-conference matchup this Saturday with UC Santa Cruz at 3:30 p.m.