Box Score SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — After upsetting first-place Dixie State, ranked 19th in the nation this week in NCAA Division II,  on Monday, the Dominican University of California men's basketball came inches from knocking off the Pacific West Conference' second-place team, Grand Canyon University, on Saturday night in the Conlan Center.

Jammall Clark had 17 points and six rebounds, both game-highs,  and Dominique Taplin chipped in with 12 off the bench but the Penguins missed several close-in shots at the rim in the final minutes, including a potential game-winner at the buzzer, and fell to the Antelopes 62-61.

It was Dominican's first loss in 15 games under head coach Booker T. Harris when the Penguins (13-10/9-6) have held their opponent to 62 or fewer points. Grand Canyon scored 105 points in its previous game on Thursday at Academy of Art.

“We just showed that we can play with one of the top teams in the conference when we guard,” Harris said. “We've got two days and we've got to find a way to get into the tournament.”

The Penguins, who could have clinched a berth in the inaugural Pacific West Conference tournament  on March 7-9 at Azusa Pacific University with a win Saturday night, will have to wait until Tuesday night for another chance when they play Academy of Art in San Francisco. Game time in the Kezar Pavilion is 7:30 p.m.

Dominican had its chances to pull off the upset against the Antelopes (21-5/12-3). The Penguins rallied from an eight-point deficit to tie the game at 48 on a 3-point play by Myles Carrillo (who had nine points in the contest) and eventually took the lead, 53-52, on a terrific fastbreak pass by Carrillo to Connor Haysbert, who converted it into a twisting lay-up with 7:41 to play.

Dominican had one other excellent opportunity to take the lead with two minutes to play. Taplin produced a great steal, but his finger roll lay-up on the other end just rolled off the rim.

Grand Canyon appeared to have the game at hand, inbounding the ball with a one-point lead with 5.3 seconds to play shortly after Clark, who scored 11 points in the second half, sank two foul shots. But Haysbert drew a charging foul on the inbounds pass, leading to a timeout then a last-second shot by Ricky Wofford in the lane that fell short. Wofford had seven points and a game-best four assists.

“We were looking to get to the rim and get a foul,” Harris said. “Rick's our captain and a competitor who plays with so much heart. You never know if in the conference tournament we will be in that same spot and he'll make that shot.”

The Penguins also hurt themselves at the foul line as they missed seven of their first 19 free throws. The Antelopes were 17-of-20 from the foul line.

Dominican did manage to battle the bigger Antelopes, the No. 1 team in the PacWest in offensive rebounds, to a draw (9-9) on the offensive boards, however. But the Penguins had to push themselves all night, after falling behind 11-0 in the game.

Joshua Lowery, a transfer from Pepperdine, led the 'Lopes with a 5-of-7 performance, including GCU's last bucket, for 16 points.

“I need to try to figure out how to address the problem with how slow we start at the start of the game,” Harris said. “I don't know how many games in a row we've started and put ourselves in a hole. We will work on it.”

Dominican overcame a 15-2 deficit against Dixie State on Monday to win. Against Grand Canyon, the Penguins missed their first five shots and had two turnovers. But, sparked by Devin Golston and Taplin (who scored nine points off the bench in the first half),  Dominican went on a tear, taking the lead 16-14 on a Clark basket off a Derek Ober feed to cap a 19-4 run. Golston started it with a pass to Carrillo for the Penguins' first field goal and Golston finished it with consecutive 3-point shots, boosting Dominican in front 19-15 at the 8:30 mark of the first half, its biggest lead of the game.