The Dominican University men's basketball team has hit a rough stretch, losing their last six contests, three in the final possession, including a 67-66 loss the Edgewood College Eagles on Tuesday evening at the Igini Sports Forum.  The loss drops the Stars to 8-12 overall and 4-11 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC).
 
The Stars led for much of the game after a quick 5-0 spurt midway through the first half turned a 16-16 tie into a 21-16 lead with 9:45 remaining in the opening period.  The Stars' lead swelled all the way to nine, 31-22, when Braquan Echols knocked down a three with 6:34 to go in the half.
 
The Eagles trimmed the lead down to four, 38-34, when Ben Seefeld scored two of his game-high 27 with the final bucket of the half.
 
Throughout the second half, Dominican kept trying to pull away, including extending the lead back to nine, 59-50, with 8:30 to play, but Edgewood kept reeling the Stars back, eventually pulling within a point, 66-65, when Jake Negus scored two of his 19 with a drive to the basket with 2:10 remaining.
 
Neither team could score over the next two minutes until Seefeld was fouled trying to collect a rebound on the defensive end, sending the junior to the line for the go-ahead free throws with just over nine seconds to play.  The Stars got a look at a game-winner with Tyler Guest getting a look from the free throw line after Luke McDermott raced up the floor and into the paint before kicking to Guest. Unfortunately for Dominican, the shot hit off the back iron and Edgewood snagged the rebound as time expired.
 
Dominican led for more than 31 minutes of game time, leading by as many as nine on three separate occasions before seeing the Eagles outscore the Stars 17-7 down the stretch.
 
Jackson Smith paced the Stars with 24 points on 8-for-13 shooting, going 8-for-9 at the foul line.  Guest added 17 points as Dominican's leading duo combined to go 15-for-27 from the field while the rest of the lineup managed just seven field goals.
 
For the Eagles, Seefeld and Negus combined for 46 points while Ryan Buss scored 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
 
Dominican will look to change course on Saturday, traveling to nearby Illinois Tech for a 2:00 p.m. tipoff against the Scarlet Hawks.