Box Score: Broncos 57, Cal State L.A. 45

POMONA – An eight-point halftime lead wasn't exactly a safe one for Cal Poly Pomona in its CCAA Tournament first-round game against visiting Cal State L.A. 

The Broncos found their momentum once the second half began with a 20-8 run in the first 10 minutes and CPP went on to defeat the Golden Eagles 57-45 and extend their school-record winning streak to 14 games. 

The top-seeded Broncos (21-5 overall) will face upstart Chico State (16-12), which upset No. 4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills 63-60 in Carson. The two teams will play the 5:30 p.m. semifinal game as the tourney now turns to Arcata on Friday and hosted by Humboldt State. 

The host Lumberjacks (22-6), who defeated Sonoma State, will take on third-seed Cal State San Bernardino (20-7) at 8:00 p.m. 

Junior Donnelle Booker, who earlier in the day was named second-team All-CCAA, led the way with 13 points and seven rebounds. The San Bernardino native has been the hot player as of late for the Broncos as he his shooting 19-for-24 in his last three games. 

Senior and first-team All-CCAA selection Austin Swift added 12 points and second-team all-conference guard Dahir Nasser kept the Golden Eagles honest with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. 

After Leland Jones hit a jumper that pulled CSULA to within seven – 34-27 – with 15:34 remaining, Swift put the Broncos in command with a pair of field goals to push the lead to double digits. 

That spurt ignited an 8-0 run as Nasser and junior Tobias Jahn kicked in a pair of field goals and CPP led 42-27 with 13:15 left. 

CSULA's Chris Field stopped the run with a jumper, but reserve Mark Rutledge hit his only basket of the night on a 3-pointer and Booker added a dunk and a layup and CPP enjoyed its 20-point lead (49-29) with 10:22 remaining with a Kellogg Gym crowd of 1,119 to back the Broncos.

The victory was a sweet one as Cal Poly Pomona defeated the last team to earn a victory over the Broncos. That loss in mid-January to CSULA was CPP's third straight at home – all in a week. 

Defense and sound shooting have been the keys for the Broncos since as they rank as the NCAA's top scoring defense. They'll remain at the top again after this victory as they allow 53.9 points a game. 

As for scoring, the Broncos have won by an average of 12 points during their winning streak. 

CSULA was led by Dwayne Jones' game-high 16 points. The Golden Eagles trailed throughout the game and tied the game just twice in the early going. 

BRONCO NOTES: The victory marks the third straight season CPP has won a CCAA Tournament first-round game. The eighth-seeded Broncos upset CCAA champion Humboldt State in 07-08 and defeated San Francisco State last season for their 11th straight win… Coach Greg Kamansky, who earned his third CCAA Coach of the Year earlier in the day, will be going for career victory No. 200 against Chico State on Friday. The 10-year coach owns a 199-87 record – a winning percentage of .696… The Broncos are 9-0 this season and 35-1 under Kamansky when they hold an opponent to less than 50 points.