SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The Dominican University of California men's basketball team put together a thrilling run in the final minutes on Thursday but fourth-place Concordia escaped with an 86-82 victory at the Conlan Center.
 
Trailing by eight points with less than four minutes remaining, the Penguins put together a 7-0 run to pull within one of the Eagles. Ryo Tawatari capped off that stretch with a key three-pointer at the 58-second mark but Concordia went 6-for-6 at the free throw line down the stretch to pull out the four-point win.
 
The result drops Dominican to 9-15 overall and 8-10 in the PacWest Conference with two regular season games remaining. The Eagles improve to 15-10 overall and 11-6 in league play.
 
Four Penguins scored in double figures Thursday, including Jeremiah Gray's team-high 20 points and 17 apiece from Josh Ramirez and Cedric Thomas. Along with Thomas, Quentin Mendoza starred off the bench with 15 points as both reserves set career bests in scoring on Thursday.
 
Led by 12 rebounds from Josh Armstrong, the Penguins outrebounded the Eagles 38-29. The Concordia offense couldn't be slowed down from three-point range as the visitors went 13-for-20 from that range.
 
The Eagles started the game with a three-pointer and midway through the opening half, another Concordia triple widened the lead to 17 points. The Penguins didn't back away from the challenge though, chipping away at the margin and pulling to within 41-34 at halftime.
 
The Eagles held a double-digit lead through the early portion of the second half but then Dominican staged its tremendous rally late in the contest. Thomas scored six of his points in a stretch of 70 seconds, putting the Penguins within striking distance.
 
The Tawatari three-pointer just inside the one-minute mark cut Concordia's lead to 80-79 but that's as close as Dominican would get.
 
The Penguins will resume their homestand on Thursday, Feb. 23 with a 7:30 p.m. matchup against Fresno Pacific. It will be Beach Night at the Conlan Center.