Box Score | POMONA, Calif. - Through the first 39 minutes of action Thursday, UC San Diego held
Mitchel Anderson to just six points.
Having grown accustumed to making clutch plays in key moments as a Bronco, Anderson took over in the final minute and lifted the sixth-ranked Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team to a 52-51 home win over the Tritons.
The victory keeps the Broncos undefeated at 9-0, which represents the best start in program history. CPP is tied for first place in the conference standings with Cal State San Bernardino and those two teams will meet at Kellogg Gym Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The Coyotes topped Humboldt State Thursday, 70-65, in Arcata.
The Broncos trailed UCSD 51-48 Thursday heading into those final 60 seconds but an Anderson layup from the left side trimmed the difference to one point with 0:47 on the clock.
On the opposite end of the floor, UCSD missed a pair of free throws to return possession to CPP. Anderson once again took control, going hard to the hoop and drawing contact. With 6.6 seconds remaining, the senior from Temecula knocked down his two free throw attempts to give the Broncos a 52-51 lead.
The Tritons had one last possession but CPP freshman
Jordan Faison managed to draw an offensive charge as UCSD turned the ball over in its final chance to upset the Broncos.
Terrence Drisdom carried CPP early in Thursday's contest and finished with a career-high 17 points, including a 3-for-4 effort from beyond the arc.
Anderson netted his seventh career double-double performance, totaling 10 points and 11 rebounds. Faison, in addition to providing stellar defense during the last possession and through the entire contest, contributed a season-high 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting.
The Broncos started strong offensively, jumping out to a 14-6 lead after a
Francois Tchoyi layup at the 13-minute mark. Tchoyi ended up with seven rebounds and five points in 18 minutes played, putting up season bests in all three categories.
A Drisdom trey at the midway point of the first period pushed CPP's edge to nine, the largest margin of the opening half. A Tritons' three-pointer on the final possession of the period settled the halftime score at 29-23 in favor of the Broncos.
CPP opened the second half on a 7-0 run that started with a Drisdom layup and ended with a three-point play by
Barry Bell on a layup and subsequent free throw. UCSD continued to show resiliency though, chipping away at the lead and taking a 9-2 run to tie the score at 44-44 with 7:41 to play.
It took nearly three minutes for the score to change but it went to the Broncos' favor as Bell forced a steal that led to an Anderson fast-break layup on the other end. UCSD stole the lead away with three-pointers on two different occasions under the 2:30 mark, first on a Tyler McGrath shot and then on a MacKenzie McCullough triple.
Anderson proved to be too much for the Tritons in the final minute though and the Broncos will now challenge the Coyotes Saturday for sole possession of first place.
