Box Score | ONTARIO, Calif. - Trailing by six points in the late stages of Friday's semifinal showdown against SF State, the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team turned to its biggest strength - defense.
With a No. 1 national ranking in that aspect of the game, the Broncos limited the Gators to just one field goal through the final five minutes of the contest.
CPP got key baskets in that stretch from
Mitchel Anderson,
DeRonn Scott and
Jordan Faison to pull out a 60-54 victory at Citizens Business Bank Arena, avenging the team's buzzer-beating loss to SFSU two weeks ago.
To view video highlights of the Broncos' semifinal victory Friday,
click here. The 2012-13 CPP squad, now 26-2, is just one of three teams in school history to reach the 26-win mark. The 2009-10 team won 28 games and the 1953-54 squad won 26.
"It's fun playing in this arena and it's a good environment," CPP head coach
Greg Kamansky said. "I know our guys wanted to win that game badly and we have to keep that mentality."
Now, the Broncos will play Saturday in the 7:30 p.m. title game of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships against Chico State. It'll mark the Broncos' fourth appearance in the title game of the conference tournament.
There will be 250 tickets available for Cal Poly Pomona students at the Saturday championship game. With proper identification - BroncoID - Those tickets can be picked up at the Citizens Business Bank Arena box office between 5:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Saturday. To view the arena's location on Google Maps,
click here.
Anderson and Faison led the Broncos' offense Friday with 12 points apiece. CPP shot just 37 percent but made up for it on defense, limiting SF State to a 3-for-17 effort from beyond the arc.
With his 12 points Friday, Anderson has moved into sole possession of third place on the Broncos' all-time scoring list with 1,391 points through his four-year career.
There were three occasions of a tie score during the final three and a half minutes, with the first one coming after
Terrence Drisdom knocked down a fadeaway three-pointer to even the tally at 50-50. A SFSU free throw gave the Gators the lead back but the Broncos responded with a Faison jumper to retake the advantage.
Anderson provided a key play at the 1:52 mark, pulling down an offensive rebound and putting it right back up for two points to give CPP a 54-52 edge. The Broncos finished with a 40-34 margin in rebounding as Anderson led the squad with eight boards.
Defense brought the CPP fans to their feet in the final minute as the Gators scored the final points of the game at the 1:16 mark with a Brandon Tatum layup tying the score 54-54. The Broncos closed out the contest on a 6-0 run, including clutch free throws from Anderson and Scott in addition to a Scott layup in the final seconds. That final basket came moments after Anderson made an acrobatic dive off the court to save a long rebound from going out of bounds.
Saturday's opponent - Chico State - has won 10-consecutive games. The Broncos swept the regular season series against the Wildcats, topping Chico 67-64 on Nov. 30 and picking up an 89-76 home win on Feb. 2. During Kamansky's tenure at CPP, the Broncos are 18-9 against the Wildcats. In that stretch, the two teams have met once in the postseason - an 80-77 semifinal win for CPP in the 2010 CCAA Championships.
The Wildcats topped Cal State San Bernardino Friday, 80-73. Amir Carraway scored a career-high 25 points, Jordan Semple scored 19 of his 21 in the second half, and Rashad Parker totaled 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.
The winner of Saturday's game will get the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The entire postseason field will be announced Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in an NCAA.com selection show.
