Oakland, Calif.- Dominican men's basketball took the short trip south for a PacWest showdown with Academy of Art at Laney College in Oakland. These two squads have such familiarity with one of another that every game between them is a battle, and tonight was no different.

Academy of Art came out hot to start the game shooting 48.6% in the first half. The Penguins were able to keep up with their success from the charity stripe where they went 8 for 10. Dominican also out rebounded Academy of Art by two in the first half.

Seniors Marcus McCutchen and Garrett Siebels led the offense for the Penguins in the first half. McCutchen would constantly drive the ball into the paint resulting in easy buckets, and Siebels had his jumper along with his long-range working throughout the half. McCutchen would finish the night with 17 points to go with eight boards.

Siebels would continue to torch Academy of Art's defense when both teams came out for the second half. The Petaluma native would end the night with 21 points on 4 for 6 from downtown. Junior Brendon Johnson helped Siebels in the second half as the duo would go on to combine for 41 points on the night. Johnson was all over the court for the Penguins finishing with nine rebounds and dishing out five assists.

All season Dominican has shown grit and toughness, and it was on full display in the second half. Down by 10 with two minutes left the Penguins had one last run in them. After a free throw from McCutchen, Siebels took control scoring the next five points in less than 20 seconds and suddenly the deficit was cut down to four.

Academy of Art would then hit a three-pointer, but the Penguins didn't give up. Johnson raced down the court for a pull-up jumper then after some free-throws from the Urban Knights, he found teammate Nathan Ilunga for an easy lay-up making it 78-82. Academy of Art would make their free throws late to seal the victory, but the Penguins made them earn it.

Dominican will have a week off before they host Point Loma Feb.29^th at 7:30 p.m.