Box Score | LOS ANGELES - In a matchup between two of the nation's top defenses, Cal Poly Pomona picked apart Cal State L.A. Saturday as the Broncos shot 55 percent in a convincing 71-54 win at the Eagles' Nest.
Saturday's slate of games marked the start to the second half of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular season schedule. Now 15-1 overall and 11-1 in conference action, the first-place Broncos - ranked sixth in the latest D-II Top 25 poll - continue to build on the best start in school history.
Saturday's result marks the sixth-straight win for the Broncos, who are 8-0 on the road so far this season.
While CPP continues to rank first at the Division II level in defense, L.A. entered the week not too far behind at No. 3 nationally. The Broncos' offense stole the show though as four players scored in double figures while
Mitchel Anderson and
Terrence Drisdom led with 17 points apiece.
The team's 71 points represents the largest scoring output for the Broncos in CCAA play so far in 2012-13 and that gave the visiting fans, including the Cal Poly Pomona Pep Band in attendance, plenty to cheer about.
The matchup also featured two of the league's top centers in L.A.'s Jordan Richard and CPP's
Mohamed Fall. The Broncos' 6-foot-7 senior easily won that battle as he nearly netted a double-double performance with 11 points and eight rebounds. On the defensive end, Fall limited Richard to four points and five rebounds.
Anderson's tremendous three-point shooting gave the Broncos a boost early as CPP jumped out to a 15-2 lead through the first five and a half minutes of action.
That rally was capped off with a spectacular fastbreak play for the Broncos as
Barry Bell swatted a James Tillman layup and that led to an Anderson dunk on the other end after a Drisdom assist.
The Golden Eagles slowly chipped away at the CPP lead and trimmed the margin back to single digits late in the period. Julian Camper provided a steady offensive presence off the bench for L.A. as he chipped in nine first-half points on 4-for-4 shooting.
The distance between the two squads stayed within single digits up until the midway point of the second half, at which time the Broncos once again stepped up their offensive and defensive intensity.
Drisdom dropped in a fastbreak layup and a
Jordan Faison three-pointer on the next possession pushed CPP in front by a 54-40 score at the 10:48 mark. The fun didn't stop there as Faison managed to knock down another trey later in the half while Anderson knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the night to set a new career high in that statistic.
Freshman forward
Ryan Hall put an exclamation point on the Broncos' big win as he threw down a dunk for the final points of the night, bringing the CPP fans to their feet. Also of note for the visiting squad, Bell turned in another stellar performance as he collected a career-high six assists to go along with four steals.
The Broncos will return to action Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. home matchup against Cal State Stanislaus.
