BOX SCORE

HILO, HI — The Dominican University of California men's basketball team lost another close one on Friday night, dropping a 62-59 Pacific West Conference decision at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo.

Austin Bryan connected with Xander McNally on the game's opening play for an alley-oop but the Penguins quickly fell behind by four. A pair of Killian Larson free throws tied the game at 10-10 and four straight points from Alastair Flack kicked off an eight-point Penguin run that put Dominican ahead 18-12. A McNally up and under layup with four minutes to play pushed the Dominican lead to 27-20. The Vulcans responded with a 7-2 run, capped by a Kevin Bruce three-pointer with five seconds on the clock that cut Dominican's halftime lead to 29-27.

Four straight Justin Smith points put HHU ahead to begin the half. After falling behind by six, the Penguins tied things at 51-51 on a Bryan basket with 5:12 to play. The Penguins again fell behind by six but pulled within a point at 60-59 with 11.5 seconds on the clock when Xavier Muldrow intercepted a pass at halfcourt and went in for the layup. The Penguins fouled and Gipson made his second free throw to put HHU up two, 61-59, with 10.2 seconds on the clock. The Vulcans stopped the Penguins and went to the line again, making it a three-point game on a Smith free throw. Smith's second free throw missed and glanced out of bounds to the Penguins but Dominican was unable to take a clean shot in the final 1.6 seconds.

Larson muscled his way inside for team-leading 17 points and eight rebounds. Bryan added 14 points in the loss while McNally and Muldrow added seven points apiece in the loss. McNally also dished five assists and swiped four steals without making a turnover.

Smith led all players with 20 points while collecting eight rebounds. Gipson added 17 points and led all players with 12 rebounds. Wilde added 10 points in the victory.

The Penguins return home for two games next week at the Conlan Center against two Bay Area rivals that the Penguins have already defeated this season. Academy of Art University visits on Thursday, Feb. 18 and Notre Dame de Namur comes calling on Saturday, Feb. 20. Tipoff for both PacWest games is set for 7:30 p.m. with the women's games preceding on both nights.