POMONA, Calif. - Down by three points with 10 minutes left Saturday, the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team put together a superb finish to defeat Cal State San Bernardino, 67-54, in front of 1,207 fans at Kellogg Gym.
The win keeps the Broncos in a tie for first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) standings. CPP and Cal State Dominguez Hills hold identical conference records of 10-4. The Coyotes of CSUSB fall into a four-team tie for second place at 9-5.
Junior guard
Mitchel Anderson contributed another impressive performance for the Broncos Saturday, scoring 11 of his 17 points in the second half to lead CPP to victory.
DeRonn Scott and
Matt Rosser also recorded double-digit point totals with 14 and 11 respectively.
Scott opened up the night with a slick shooting touch, sinking a three-pointer at the 14-minute mark to even the score at 5-5. The sophomore guard ended up scoring CPP's first seven points of the contest.
The two teams traded the lead throughout much of the half while the Broncos' defense forced a couple of turnovers around midcourt that led to Rosser and
Tyquan Brown dunks on the other end.
The steals continued for CPP as the hosts closed out the half on a 10-4 run. That stretch featured three takeaways by Brown and the Broncos took a 30-24 lead into the break.
Early in the second period, Anderson drove along the baseline and went hard to the rim for a layup, while also drawing a foul. Despite Anderson missing the free throw, the CPP lead was at nine points.
The Coyotes mustered a counter though and with 13:46 to play in regulation, Scooter Holmes capped off a CSUSB spurt by dropping in a fastbreak layup off his own steal to tie the score at 37-37.
After the Coyotes took a 44-41 lead across the 10-minute mark, the Broncos started their terrific finish. Through that final quarter of the contest, CPP outscored the visitors 26-10.
Anderson dropped in a layup at the 8:28 mark, with that play giving the Broncos a lead they wouldn't surrender.
Daniel Rodriguez quickly followed with another two-pointer for CPP and
Terrence Drisdom added a three-pointer moments later.
Free throws played an important role in Saturday's game. CPP got to the line 20 times in the second half as compared to just twice in the opening period. The Coyotes posted an 11-for-18 effort at the free throw line in the second half while the visitors were also hurt by a 3-for-20 performance from beyond the arc. The Broncos shot 55.6 percent from the floor Saturday.
The 13-point difference between the two teams matched the highest margin of victory for the Broncos over the Coyotes during CPP head coach
Greg Kamansky's tenure. The Broncos defeated CSUSB 63-50 in the 2005-06 campaign. Paired with the Broncos' win over the Coyotes earlier this season in San Bernardino, this is the first time in five years where either team has swept the regular season series.
CPP will now start a four-game road swing, starting with a Friday 7:30 p.m. matchup at Chico State.