SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The injury-riddled Dominican University of California men's basketball team dropped an 85-74 decision to No. 24 BYU-Hawaii on Monday night in the Conlan Center.

With three regular players in street clothes due to injury, the Penguins went with a five-guard starting lineup. The Penguins fell behind quickly, 7-0, to the much taller BYU-Hawaii lineup and trailed 45-33 by the end of the first half. The deficit grew to 22 in the second half, though the Penguins made a late run. A seven-point run coupled with a Dominique Taplin three-point play cut the Seasiders' lead all the way to eight, 70-62, with seven minutes to go. However, BYU-Hawaii countered with a nine-point run over the next two minutes that blew the game open yet again at 79-62. Dominican would pull no closer than 11 over the final five minutes.

Still, the Penguins outscored BYU-Hawaii 40-34 in the paint and went toe-to-toe on the glass but were eventually edged 41-30 in that category. Dominican also scored 19 points off of the Seasiders' 17 turnovers. The physical Seasiders drew 30 trips to the free throw line, where they capitalized with 25 makes.

Taplin poured in 28 points, a point shy of his career-high, on 10-of-15 shooting and had a team-high five rebounds. Matt Hayes added 18 points with four three-pointers and a career-high five steals, plus four rebounds and three asssits. Josh Armstrong scored 10 points. Freshman Reverend Maduakor tallied a career-high nine points in a career-high 26 minutes. Dominican's four players with the fewest minutes logged this season, which includes Maduakor, combined to average 15 minutes apiece, well above their 5.8 minutes per game average. Big men Mathew Lipski and Bobby Johnson, who have also missed time recently due to to injury, combined for four points and three rebounds in 25 minutes.

Pablo Coro was one of four Seasiders in double digits and scored a team-high 19 points. Jordan Stone added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Daniel Berger scored 11 points, and Scott Friel added 10.

Dominican's five-game homestand continues on Thursday, Jan. 22 when Chaminade visits the Conlan Center. That is Academic Night, where the Penguins' 2013-14 PacWest Academic Achievement Award banner will be unveiled at halftime. Before the game, which tips off at 7:30 p.m., the all-new Chilly the Penguin will make his debut. He will also be available at halftime to take photos with fans. Live video and stats will be available at dominicanathletics.com/live with audio provided by radio.dominican.edu.