SAN RAFAEL, Calif. -- A double-digit first half lead quickly slipped away for No. 22-ranked Azusa Pacific, as 24 turnovers cost the Cougars dearly in a 78-76 road defeat at Dominican.

The loss removed Azusa Pacific from sole possession of the Pacific West Conference lead, dropping the Cougars into a tie with Concordia for the PacWest lead with a 15-4 overall and 9-2 PacWest mark.

Sparked by a LyDell Cardwell three-pointer on the opening possession, Azusa Pacific raced to a 22-10 lead, hitting eight-of-14 three-pointers in the first half alone, including five in the first seven minutes of action. However, the Cougars coughed up 15 first-half turnovers as Dominican stormed back with a 17-4 run over the final 5:21 of the opening half for a 46-39 edge over the Cougars at the break.

"This game was lost in the first half," Azusa Pacific head coach Justin Leslie said. "What has made our team special is how they do the little things and how they execute the fundamentals on both sides of the ball. My hat's off to Dominican for competing hard when we should have been creating separation earlier in the game."

A Joey Schreiber trey capped a 20-8 run over the first nine minutes of the second half, taking a 59-54 lead, and a Cardwell three with 7:13 left extended the lead to six points at 64-58. However, Dominican swung the game for good with a 10-2 run late in the half, taking a 70-68 lead with 3:44 left.

With 1:04 remaining, Cardwell tied the game at 74-74 with his fifth three-pointer of the game, but Dominican point guard Ryo Tawatari was fouled on a three-pointer and made two-of-three at the line to keep the Penguins in front. Azusa Pacific's final possession with a chance to tie was stolen by Reverend Maduakor with eight seconds left, and the Cougars needed all but 1.3 seconds to spend three fouls to get Dominican into the bonus for a one-and-one free throw opportunity. Seth Turner sank both free throws before Petar Kutlesic dropped in a layup as time expired for the final 78-76 margin.

Kutlesic had a perfect shooting night, hitting seven-of-seven overall with two three-pointers, plus a pair of free throws to finish with a career-high 18 points. He also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while Cardwell finished five-for-11 on three-pointers and added 17 points for the Cougars.

As a team, Azusa Pacific shot a season-high 58 percent (26-for-45) from the field, including a 50 percent (14-for-28) clip from three-point range, but the season-high turnover total led to 22 Dominican points off the Cougars' 24 giveaways. In addition, the Penguins earned 20 second-chance points thanks to 17 offensive rebounds.

"This is a huge learning opportunity for us," Leslie said. "While it will be good to get back home for a six-game homestand, we still have a lot of improvement to make."

Azusa Pacific returns home Saturday, Jan. 30, to take on Fresno Pacific in the first of six consecutive home games.