POMONA, Calif. - The Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team, now ranked at No. 9 nationally, will take its first road trip of the 2013 calendar year this week with matchups at Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay.
The Broncos lost their undefeated status Saturday as Cal State San Bernardino dealt CPP its first defeat of the 2012-13 campaign. Currently, the Broncos hold second place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 9-1 overall record and a 5-1 mark in league play.
CPP remains perfect in road games at 4-0 but this weekend's games in Seaside and Hayward will pose tough challenges to that unblemished record. In Friday's 7:30 p.m. matchup against CSUMB, the Otters will put their perfect 4-0 home record on the line as well. The Broncos' Saturday opponent - CSUEB - also owns a perfect home record up to this point, albeit on a smaller scale at 2-0.
The Broncos swept through last year's Seaside and Hayward road trip but it came at a cost as they lost
Terrence Drisdom to a season-ending injury. In an impressive comeback story, the junior guard from Corona battled back from the injury and has been a steady contributor through the first nine games of the 2012-13 season. This past week in the games against UC San Diego and CSUSB, Drisdom averaged 18 points and six rebounds to earn CCAA Player of the Week mention.
Everything Unturned
The Broncos' defense currently ranks second at the Division II level and part of that has to do with the CPP offense limiting its turnovers, which in turn cuts down on opponents' fast-break opportunities. With an average of 11.8 turnovers per game, the Broncos' mark ranks 20th nationally.
Mitchel Anderson has been consistently strong in that aspect as his assist to turnover ratio of 3.3 is ninth-best among D-II players.
Can't-Miss Prospect
Freshman forward
Jordan Faison, a Lake Forest native, continues to excel in his debut season as a Bronco. The first-year development continued this past week as he collected 14 points in each of the two games while going an astounding 12-for-14 from the field. Faison's high-percentage shooting is getting noticed at the conference level as his field goal percentage of 68.6 ranks No. 1 in the CCAA.
Around the Corner
After the Broncos finish this weekend's road trip, they'll return home to host Sonoma State on Thursday, Jan. 17. It'll be "Pack the Gym" night at Kellogg Gym with plenty of free food and other giveaways for students in attendance. The women's game starts at 5:30 p.m. and the men's game begins at 7:30 p.m. so show up early in support of CPP basketball.
