Box Score
PHOENIX, Ariz. – The 15th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team dropped a narrow six-point decision, 52-46, to Montana State Billings Friday to start a two-day tournament hosted at Grand Canyon University.
MSUB improves its mark to 2-6 this season, while the Broncos fall to 2-3 overall. CPP will get a chance to bounce back with a Saturday game against Simon Fraser to conclude the tournament action in Phoenix. Tipoff Saturday is set for 7 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. MDT).
The Broncos shot just 32.1 percent from the field, tallied 15 turnovers and went 7-for-15 from the free throw line. The Yellowjackets struggled in the same categories, with the exception of free throws – MSUB shot 81.3 percent from the strike to escape with the narrow victory.
Dwayne Fells proved to be a lone bright spot for the CPP offense Friday, as the junior contributed 18 points to go along with seven rebounds. He nearly reached his career high, a 19-point performance last March.
The Yellowjackets and Broncos played even on neutral ground, with the contest lacking any serious run of points for a specific side as the squads were tied seven different times and went through five lead changes.
The CPP attack had its chances to retake the advantage in the second half but shooting continued to plague the Broncos, who went 3-for-23 from three-point range.
MSUB didn't fare much better and plenty of Yellowjackets' shots were sent back as CPP collected eight blocks on the afternoon. The MSUB squad held a small but consistent lead through much of the second period though and it when it came to free throws, the Yellowjackets knocked them down.
DeAndre Chambers led MSUB with 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals, while going 6-for-6 from the strike.
Matt Rosser, despite missing his first free throws of the season, put together a solid performance in the rebounding category. Rosser ended with a career-high eight rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
The Broncos were missing Tobias Jahn, who was out due to injury.
