SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California men's basketball team suffered an 86-83 loss to visiting Dixie State on Thursday night in the Conlan Center.

Dominican was in control early and went six of its first 10 shots to build a nine-point lead, 16-7, seven minutes into play. A Matt Hayes three-pointer grew the lead to 11 just over halfway through the first half but the Red Storm closed out the half with a five-point run to cut the Penguins' lead to 45-41 at the half.

The Red Storm extended its run with the first five points of the second half to take a 46-45 lead. Still, the Penguins regained the lead just as quickly and were back up by seven with nine minutes to go. However, DSU went on a seven-point run to clean the slate at 7:44, tied 67-67. Jonny Bates gave the Penguins the lead yet again but the score would tie four more times down the stretch. Dominique Taplin put the Penguins up 78-77 with 2:57 to go but Josh Ramirez's fifth foul led to a pair of Zac Hunter free throws. Those two makes gave Dixie State the lead for good and the Penguins twice pulled to within one and had a chance to tie on the final possession but couldn't come up with a big shot.

It was another tale of two halves for the Penguins, who shot 52.9 percent (18-of-34) in the first half but were held to 13-of-33 (39.4 percent) shooting in the second half. In contrast, DSU started 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) but went 13-of-21 (61.9 percent) in the second half. Dominican held the rebounding advantage, 40-34. However, the Penguins were whistled for 30 fouls to Dixie State's 16 and found themselves sending Dixie State to the free throw line for two attempts with over 10 minutes to go in the second half.

Taplin scored 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting with six rebounds and three assists. Matt Hayes added 16 points on four three-pointers, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Jonny Bates added 10 points in his first game back since suffering a concussion at Point Loma on Jan. 12. Josh Ramirez, in his first game back since injurng his hand on Jan. 17 in a win over UH Hilo, went 4-for-4 with eight points. Karl Ohrner, who also went down with an injury in the Point Loma game, had seven points, five rebounds, and four assists in his return to action. Dominican is still not at 100 percent with Christopher Schwartz-Edmisten currently sidelined with a concussion. Matt Lipski pulled down a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.

Collin Wood led the Red Storm with 23 points, 11 of which came at the free throw line. Dequan Thompson added 19 points.

Dominican had not lost to Dixie State since 2012, with the most notable win coming last year in Utah when Dixie State was then ranked No. 20 in NCAA Division II. The Penguins will have to wait to even their record against the Red Storm, as the loss gives Dixie State a 6-4 advantage in the two teams' all-time head-to-head record.

The loss didn't help the Penguins' hunt for the sixth and final spot in the upcoming PacWest Championships, nor did No. 16 California Baptist's 79-77 loss at seventh-place Chaminade or sixth-place Point Loma's 65-34 thrashing of Holy Names. UH Hilo, which is a half game in front of Dominican, was idle on Thursday night but will be back in PacWest action on Saturday night. Dominican hosts Fresno Pacific (6-12/2-9 PacWest) on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. Live coverage is available at dominicanathletics.com/live with audio provided by radio.dominican.edu. Fans are encouraged to wear gold to the game on Saturday and the first 100 fans to arrive at the doubleheader will receive gold Dominican t-shirts as part of Gold Rush Night presented by Gold Rush Jewelers.