SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California men's basketball team has a busy week with three games, including two PacWest contests against nationally-ranked opponents. On Tuesday night, the Penguins came out on the short end of a 74-71 contest against No. 22 Azusa Pacific.

The Penguins fell behind after a 16-4 Cougars run that helped them build a 15-point lead. The Penguins continued to trail by 10 with a minute left but made it interesting at the end.

Dominican's comeback attempt began after the Cougar's Troy Leaf missed a free throw with a minute to go. Christopher Schwartz-Edmisten drew a foul for a three-point play, Josh Ramirez's shot was counted on a goaltending call, and Dominique Taplin pulled the Penguins within four, 72-68, with a three-pointer.

The Cougars sank a pair of free throws but a three-pointer from Jonny Bates kept it a one-possession game. Azusa Pacific turned the ball over with a dozen seconds to go. Taplin managed to get the ball through the ball pressure up top but Josh Ramirez's step-back three-pointer with a hand in his face from the right side sailed long.

Dominican actually made three more field goals than Azusa Pacific (29-of-56 compared to 26-of-53) and held a 34-31 advantage on the glass. Yet, 18 Penguins turnovers and a lopsided free throw count that saw Azusa Pacific make more free throws (15-of-28) than Dominican attempted  (7-of-11) impacted the Penguins' comeback chances.

Taplin led Dominican with 16 points, topped all players with nine rebounds, and dished out four assists. Ramirez added 14 points and five rebounds. Karl Ohrner added a season-high 11 points. Schwartz-Edmisten and Bates finished the night with eight points apiece.

Azusa Pacific's Troy Leaf scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half to lead all players. Will Ward added 11 points off the bench and Robert Sandoval scored 10 points.

Dominican will look to bounce back against No. 16 California Baptist University on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Live video and stats will be available on dominicanathletics.com/live with commentary provided by Alex Swan on radio.dominican.edu.