AZUSA, Calif. — The Dominican University of California men's basketball team lost another close game on Monday in a 96-94 double overtime loss at Azusa Pacific.

The Penguins (12-12/8-9 PacWest) dropped all three games on their Southern California roadtrip by a single possession and a combined six points. The Penguins now find themselves on the outside looking in on the sixth and final spot for the PacWest Championships in March. Point Loma (8-8 PacWest) now holds the spot but has to host California Baptist and finishes with three games in Hawaii. Chaminade and Fresno Pacific both stand at 8-9 in conference play as well, and Dominican closes the regular season out at FPU. At 7-10 in conference play, UH Hilo would need to win its three remaining games. With first-place Concordia ineligble for the tournament, Azusa Pacific (18-6/12-4 PacWest) is on pace to earn the top seed.

Dominican was haunted all night by second-chance opportunities. Azusa Pacific scored 32 second-chance points and outworked the Penguins 62-31 on the glass, including 28 offensive rebounds. That lopsided statistic summed up the final play, in which the Cougars missed four shots in 15 seconds but Petar Kutlesic got a putback and the foul to give the Cougars the final lead with 3.5 seconds left. Ryo Tawatari's half-court shot for the win was wide left.

Dominican built a 12-point first-half lead and led by 14 in the second half. The Cougars used a 14-8 run over the first five minutes of the second half to trim the lead to 51-45. Dominican kept the Cougars from tying the game though but a missed free throw in the final minutes haunted Dominican for the second time in as many games. Connor Peterson came up with the rebound for hte Cougars and Bruce English's layup with 15 seconds made it 71-71. Dominican called timeout but Matt Hayes' off-balance three from the left side didn't fall and the game headed to overtime.

In the first overtime, Dominican grabbed a four-point lead before Azusa Pacific surged back with a 10-0 run for a six-point lead. Still, Tawatari knocked down a free throw with two seconds left to send the game into a second overtime.

Josh Ramirez was one of six Penguins in double digits and scored a game-high 22 points. Christopher Schwartz-Edmisten added 14 points, Tawatari scored 13 poitns, and Reverend Maduakor scored a dozen points. Hayes and Seth Turner scored 11 poitns apiece and Turner grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Quentin Mendoza scored 10 points with three three-pointers.

All 10 Cougars scored and five reached double digits. Kutlesic scored a team-high 19 points and game-high 14 rebounds. Corey Langerveld and Peterson added 18 points apiece. Peterson also had 11 rebounds.

Dominican returns home to the Conlan Center to close out the home schedule. The Penguins face Bay Area rival Academy of Art on Saturday, Feb. 20 and Dixie State on Monday, Feb. 22. Saturday is Beach Night and fans are encouraged to wear beach apparel as summer comes early to the Ice Box. On Monday, Dominican's three seniors — Hayes, Karl Ohrner, and Schwartz-Edmisten — will be honored in a pregame ceremony. Tipoff for both games is slated for 7:30 p.m. Live stats and pay-per-view video will be available at dominicanathletics.com/live with live audio provided by Penguin Radio and the student broadcasters at radio.dominican.edu.