HONOLULU, Hawai'i—Hawai'i Pacific University outlasted the Penguins in the final 24 seconds of regulation, as the Sharks earned a 66-65 win over Dominican University Saturday afternoon at St. Francis Gymnasium. 
 
With 2:05 remaining in the second half, the Penguins gained a six-point lead over the Sharks as Jordan Williams sank a midrange jumper to increase Dominican's advantage to 65-59. David Rowlands knocked down a three pointer, and Neema Nambar found Ronald Blain in the paint for a lay-up to come within one of the Penguins. With 24 seconds left in regulation and the Penguins leading 65-64, Tavon Tarpley grabbed a defensive board, kicked it out to Rowlands, and Rowlands skipped it ahead to Daniel Melifonwu for the alley-oop to take the one-point lead and secure the 66-65 win. 
 
Blain was the defining factor down the stretch for Hawai'i Pacific (6-9, 4-5 PacWest), with 16 points on 50% shooting from the field, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. Tarpley finished 6-of-9 from the field, scoring 14 and adding six rebounds, one steal and one block to his stat line. 
 
Jaelen Ragsdale powered Dominican's offense, scoring 29 points, including 21 in the first half, and 5-of-7 from three-point range, while also adding three assists, two steals and one block. Jordan Williams shot 10-of-13 from the field, totaling 12 points, two rebounds, three assists and one block. 
 
After four minutes of action the Penguins (2-12, 2-6 PacWest) earned a four-point lead when Williams cleared the paint for a reverse lay-up to give Dominican a 9-5 advantage. The Sharks went on to score six straight to take a 11-9 lead over the Penguins when Blain hit a midrange jumper. Ragsdale responded with a three-pointer from the top of the arc to grant the Penguins with the lead once more. 
 
Dominican and HPU traded the lead throughout much of the second half, until Ragsdale knocked down another three-pointer from deep beyond the arc. Ragsdale continued to be the spark behind Dominican's offense, in which he proved on the following possession, driving through the lane to bring the Penguins' lead to 21-17.
 
Dominican extended their lead to 25-17 with 8:13 remaining in the first half. Godges helped the Sharks come within two of the Penguins with two three-pointers on consecutive possessions, and Blain tied the game at 27, collecting an offensive rebound and putting it back in for two. Blain would receive a technical foul on the play for unsportsmanlike conduct, allowing Ragsdale to give Dominican back the 1-point lead by sinking one-of-two free throws. Dominican capitalized on the foul by going on a 7-0 run, capped off with Williams picking off a pass from Jacob Foy and dishing it off to Ragsdale on the other end for a dunk, extending the Penguins' lead to 34-27 with 2:59 left in the first half. The Sharks cut their deficit to five before ending the half with Dominican in the driver's seat, leading 36-31. 
Tarpley helped HPU quickly erase their deficit by scoring the Sharks' first eight of 10 points of the half to allow Hawai'i Pacific to gain a 41-39 lead. Ragsdale responded, knocking down a jumper to tie the game once more, but Jacob Foy and Tarpley matched Ragsdale with two quick baskets, taking back the 46-41 lead. After trading made field goals, and the lead, Romeo Mays stole the pass from Rowlands and took it coast-to-coast to extend Dominican's lead to 59-53 with 5:49 left in the second half. HPU would come from behind down the stretch to steal the win from the Penguins in the final minute of regulation.
 
Dominican will close out its road trip on the Hawaiian Islands Monday as they take on Chaminade University. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. HST, and live video and stats will be available online.