Feb. 20, 2008

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River Forest, IL - The Dominican University Stars climbed up one spot in the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) standings on Wednesday night, moving into a tie for fifth place with Lakeland College at 10-7 in league play, 13-11 overall, as the Stars defeated Rockford College 88-57.

The Stars jumped out to an 18-0 lead early in the ballgame with the Stars starting frontcourt, senior Mike Haiduc (Chicago, IL) and junior Kyle Tipton (Milwaukee, WI) accounting for 12 of the Stars points on the 18-point run. The pair combined for 39 points on the night with Haiduc scoring a game-high 20 points and Tipton adding a career-high 19 points in the winning effort. The two went a combined 16-for-24 from the field and 6-for-9 from the field.

Dominican lead 48-21 at the break and their lead was never in jeopardy, leading by at least 26 points throughout the entirety of the second half.

Senior Jose Garcia (Kenosha, WI) continued his hot shooting, pouring in 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field, including going 4-for-6 from three. The 6'1" guard has posted a .778 three-point field goal percentage over the last three games, all Stars' victories, connecting on 14 of his 18 attempts from behind the three-point line.

The Stars appear to be hitting their stride at the right time, stringing together their third three-game winning streak and winners of six of their last seven contests and nine of their last 12. In fact, during the Stars' current three-game win streak, Dominican has not trailed at any point in any of the three games and has outscored its opponents 230-176.

The Stars close out the regular season on Saturday as they host the MSOE Raiders. The Raiders are currently in a tie for third place in the NAC at 11-6 in the conference and 16-8 overall. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. in Dominican's Igini Sports Forum.