Box Score
LA JOLLA, Calif. – Clutch shooting and stellar defense fueled a 54-52 road victory for the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team over UC San Diego Saturday night. It marked the Broncos' fifth-straight win, which pushes CPP to 6-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
“This is our third city in five days and the guys keep fighting,” Broncos' head coach Greg Kamansky said. “I'm proud of how they hung in there. We were down late but they stuck with it and never gave up.”
CPP saw its lead grow as large as 10 in the second half but UCSD found its way in front and overtook the lead, 49-47, after Tyler McGrath sunk a three-pointer with 4:18 to play.
For the next four minutes though, the Broncos held the Tritons scoreless and rallied for the win. Mitchel Anderson hit a clutch trey from the left corner to put CPP ahead 50-49. Tobias Jahn added a free throw and Dwayne Fells tossed in a tough-angle jumper with 11 seconds left on the clock to extend the lead to 53-49.
Although McGrath managed to nail another three-pointer, the Broncos lead held up and CPP walked out of RIMAC Arena with a two-point victory. With the win, the Broncos are now 9-6 overall and their 6-5 conference mark puts them in sixth place. The eighth-place Tritons are now 9-9 overall and 4-8 in CCAA action.
Three Bronco players ended the contest with 12 points apiece: Anderson, Fells and Mark Rutledge. A senior out of Sacramento, Calif., Rutledge got CPP going early with a 4-for-4 performance from beyond the arc during the opening half. Anderson put together an all-around sold night, as he added six rebounds and two assists to his point total, which, similarly to Rutledge, was gained by four three-pointers.
The Tritons and Broncos ended up exchanging the lead on eight different occasions and the margins stayed small throughout Saturday's game. CPP held a 26-22 advantage going into the final minute of the first period, before Rutledge knocked down his fourth trey of the contest to send the Broncos into halftime ahead by seven.
"I knew it was going to be a tough defensive game but it was still there for me to step up and take shots," Rutledge said. "We just kept fighting and showed a lot of hustle."
After a Jahn free throw put CPP up 37-29 at the 13:54 mark in the second half, UCSD put together a 12-0 run to take a 41-37 lead just about midway through the period.
The Broncos took that lead back for good when Anderson dropped in his three-pointer at the 3:09 mark and CPP kept the Tritons in a scoring drought for 4:14 of the final 4:18.
The Broncos stayed active on the defensive end all game and it showed in the final stat line, as CPP tallied eight blocks and 10 steals. Jahn led the team in blocks with three while Fells paced the squad in steals with a career-high total of four.
Up next for the Broncos will be a return trip to Northern California for games next weekend at Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State.
