Jan. 10, 2008

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River Forest, Ill. - The Dominican University Stars led the Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors 40-29 at the end of the first half and held on for a 76-71 victory fueled by seniors Jose Garcia (Kenosha, WI), Rashim Lettsome (Waukegan, IL) and Mike Haiduc (Chicago, IL) who all scored in double-figures for the Stars.

Garcia, the Stars' leading scorer on the season, scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half as the Stars built an eleven-point lead over the game's first 20 minutes. Garcia went 5-for-8 in the field in the first half, including 4-for-7 from behind the three-point stripe. The 6'2" guard finished the game shooting 7-for-13 from the field and 6-for-11 from three rounding out his stat line with three assists, three rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes.

Lettsome, a 6'0" guard, logged his first career double-double for the Stars as he posted 12 points and 10 assists with three steals in 29 minutes. Lettsome helped the Stars hold on for the win, scoring eight of his 12 points in the game's final four minutes. Lettsome pulled the Stars to within one with fewer than four minutes to play after a steal and lay-in and then put Dominican ahead for good on the Stars' next possession at 65-64 with 2:33 remaining in the game as he sank a pair of free throws.

Haiduc and freshman Jovan Turley (Grand Rapids, MI) added 10 points and 11 points respectively. Haiduc, the Stars' 6'8" forward, went 5-for-8 from the field in 26 minutes but was hampered by foul trouble throughout the game.

The win improves the Stars' record to 5-8 overall and 2-4 in the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) while dropping the Warriors to 7-4 on the season and 1-3 in the NAC. Dominican will return to action on Saturday as they travel to Fon du Lac, Wis. to take on the Marian College Sabres in NAC action. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m.