HILO, Hawaii- Dominican men's basketball (9-6, 4-5) opened their Hawaiian road trip Thursday night squaring off against the Vulcans of Hawaii Hilo. Senior Jorge Ochoa led the way for the Pengs in this one going for a game high 17 points while grabbing five boards resulting in a 65 to 59 victory.

This was a defensive battle throughout the night as both teams turned the ball over, but it was Dominican whose defense proved to be too much for the Vulcans as they turned it over a game high 20 times. Fellow senior Darius Best was giving the Hilo offense fits all night as he constantly put pressure on their guards coming away with a game high four steals. Best, the North Carolina native, was also aggressive on the offensive side of the ball as he forced the Vulcans defense to send him to the charity stripe six times. He would finish second on the team posting 15 points to go along with three assists.

Sargent Jeffery made his presence felt early down low as he got by the Vulcans defense for a couple easy lay-ups. Then the big man out of Nevada showed off his versatility as he walked into a wide open three-pointer and splashed it in forcing Hilo to call a timeout. He would finish this game third on the team in scoring with nine points while bringing down a team high six boards. Michael Wilson and Ochoa would finish the first half strong for Dominican as they collected a couple of lay-ups to give the Pengs a double-digit lead.

In the second half the black and gold would start fast as they jumped out to a 17-point lead thanks in part to Ochoa who ignited a run with a couple of treys he drained assisted by Best. Hilo would try to claw their way back into the game, but the Pengs would have an answer every time they sensed the momentum starting to change. Wilson and teammate Stephen Ransom helped round out the top scorers for Dominican as they posted eight points apiece.  

The Penguins will wrap up their Hawaiian road trip Jan 17th as they travel to the big island to play Chaminade at 9 p.m. PST