HAYWARD, Calif. - Clutch shooting by DeRonn Scott and tremendous team defense on the game's final possession lifted the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team to a thrilling 52-51 win Saturday at Cal State East Bay.

The result keeps the Broncos in a first-place tie, which now features three teams in CPP, Humboldt State and Chico State all holding 13-5 conference marks.

In Saturday's showdown in Hayward, the Pioneers took a four-point lead into the final two minutes. Scott scored the final five points of the contest, first sinking a three-pointer at the 1:40 mark to trim the margin to one and then delivering the eventual game-winning jumper with 48 seconds remaining.

CSUEB had a last shot to retake the lead but Scott and the rest of the Broncos on the floor put together a stifling defensive effort to shut down the Pioneers' top playmakers Mark Samuels and Roshun Wynne.

Three CPP players finished in double-digit point totals, including Matt Rosser totaling 12, Scott adding 11 and Mitchel Anderson collecting 10. Samuels poured in a game-high 19 points.

The Broncos got an early lead when Anderson sunk a three-pointer to open the scoring but the visitor's advantage didn't last long. After that bucket, the Pioneers stole that momentum away by rattling off a 10-0 run that Samuels closed out with five-straight points.

CSUEB ended up leading for the remainder of the half but CPP pulled to within three points on a number of occasions, including three instances in the final two minutes of the period. Key baskets for the Broncos in that stretch heading toward the break came from Anderson, Daniel Rodriguez and Terrence Drisdom.

Both teams shot above 50 percent in the opening half, as the two offenses carefully picked apart the opposition and regularly used up the majority of the shot clock times. The halftime score settled at 35-32 in favor of CSUEB.

Once Rodriguez hit a three-pointer at the 18:38 mark to pull the Broncos back to within three, 38-35, the margin stayed under three for almost the rest of the contest. CPP elevated its defensive play in the second half, holding the Pioneers to just six field goal conversions and 16 points.

With 2:54 to play, Wynne broke a nearly seven-minute scoring drought for CSUEB when he knocked down a jumper to put the Pioneers ahead by three. CSUEB took a four-point edge into the final two minutes after Samuels sunk a pair of free throws, putting the Broncos on the brink of being on the wrong end of a series sweep through the regular season.

Instead, CPP continued to lock down the Pioneers offense while Scott found his shooting rhythm, tallying five-straight points to deliver a Broncos win and put the Pioneers' playoff chances in serious danger.

CPP will play its final four regular season games at home, starting with a Thursday 7:30 p.m. matchup against Sonoma State as part of "Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night."