BOX SCORE

LAIE, Hawai'i — The Dominican University of California men's basketball team lost its fourth straight Pacific West Conference game on Saturday, dropping an 80-61 decision to Hawai'i Pacific University at the Cannon Activities Center on the BYU-Hawaii campus.

The Penguins (0-14/0-4) trailed early 5-0 before staking an 8-6 lead on a pair of free throws from senior Adam Chavis with 15:11 left in the first half. That lead grew to six before HPU (7-7/2-1) tied it up midway through the half. At the break, HPU regained the lead 38-33.

HPU stymied the Penguins in the opening minutes of the second half, using a 16-1 run to extend their lead to 22 and essentially seal the game's outcome with 15 minutes to play. Dominican chipped three points off the final deficit but was unable to string a run of their own together, instead trading baskets with the Sea Warriors the rest of the way.

While the Penguins minimized their turnovers at 12, they were outworked on the glass 35-28 and allowed their opponent to shoot 26-of-47 (.553) from the field. Dominican shot 13-of-28 (.464) in the first half but went cold in the second half, making just 7-of-26 (.269) attempts.

Senior Royal Edwards led HPU with 16 points and junior forward Adrian den Dulk and junior guard Nick Frazier each added 10 points.

Sophomore center Killian Larson led all players with a season-high 17 points. Junior guard Xander McNally went 4-of-7 from the field and finished with a season-high 12 points. Chavis came off the bench and added nine points. Senior forward Leon Hart and freshman center Connor Haysbert each chipped in seven points apiece in the loss.

The Penguins return home to the Conlan Center on Thursday, Jan. 20 when defending co-Conference Champ Dixie State College comes calling. Tipoff against the Red Storm is slated for 7:30 p.m.