FRESNO, Calif. – Dominican men's basketball overcame a late deficit before taking an 85-79 victory in overtime over Fresno Pacific Saturday evening at the Special Events Center.

Nick Medeiros led all players with 25 points to go with five rebounds for the Penguins (13-8, 8-7 PacWest), while Darius Best finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with three steals. Brandon Gibson led the Sunbirds (9-13, 8-8 PacWest) with 16 points and eight rebounds. In a largely equally fought game, Dominican's 75.8% shooting from the charity stripe proved the difference with crucial makes in overtime, while FPU missed a crucial attempt in regulation and overtime. 

Gibson laid it in to cap an 8-point Sunbird run deep into the second half and pushing FPU into a 62-58 lead with 4:28 left in the game. The teams traded baskets for the next four minutes as the Penguins time for a comeback dwindled. Michael Wilson changed that all as he made a step-back 3-pointer to trim the Sunbird lead to one and Gibson made 1-of-2 free throws to give Dominican one last chance with 22 seconds remaining. Medeiros drew a foul on the other end as he drove to the hoop and headed to the line with a chance to tie. Medeiros hit both shots and Omari Davis blocked Seth Brown's attempt at a game-winner on the other end to send the game to overtime.

Medeiros highlighted Dominican's start in overtime with a contested jumper from the left elbow as they built a 77-71 lead in the first 90 seconds. Hugo Gonzalez knocked down a 3-pointer moments later for the Sunbirds to finally halt the 11-1 run spanning the end of the regulation and cutting the FPU deficit in half. The Penguins kept the Sunbirds at arm's length over the final three minutes to hold on for the victory with Best knocking down a pair from the charity stripe with seven seconds left to seal the victory.

After the Sunbirds jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the game, Medeiros weaved into the lane and connected on a driving layup through contact to jump start the Penguins. Stephen Ransom and Michael Wilson each laid it in on back-to-back possessions to quickly tie the game again with 17 minutes left in the half. Jorge Ochoa gave Dominican its first lead of the game as he connected on a pull up jumper as the Penguins continued their run. Sargent Jeffrey ended the 14-2 run with a layup off a steal and dish from Ochoa to make it 14-8 with 13:37 left in the half. 

FPU battled back as Brown knocked down a shot from behind the arc to cut the deficit in half and Harrison Pennisi hitting a short jumper to make it a one-point game two minutes later. Logan Kilbert gave FPU back the lead with a 3-pointer a few minutes later, but Ochoa answered with a jumper in transition to tie the game 20-20 with 7:37 on the clock. Dominican slowly added to its lead as Best laid it off the glass for a 35-29 lead with 1:27 left until the break, but the Sunbirds scored the final four points of the half to cut the deficit to two as the teams headed into the locker room.

Medeiros showed his physicality in the second half taking a ball to the rim and finishing through contact to extend the Penguin lead to 42-36, but Kilbert hit another 3-pointer from the left wing to blunt the momentum. As they had done all game, the Sunbirds used the 3-point line to quickly strike back as Brown connected this time with a Gibbson layup getting them back within a single possession at 46-44 with 14 minutes left in the game.

After FPU finally retook a lead on a pair of free throws, Austin Johnson knocked down a 25-foot 3-pointer to answer and hand the lead back to Dominican heading into the final 10 minutes of the game. Jeffrey then knocked down a 3-pointer on a kickout from Medeiros to push the lead back to five. 

Dominican returns home to host Azusa Pacific on Monday at 7:30 p.m. PST at the Conlan Center as it celebrates its annual Academic night.