Box Score | SEASIDE, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team closed out its three-game road stretch in impressive fashion Saturday, outscoring Cal State Monterey Bay by 19 points in the second half to secure the team's fifth-straight victory.
The third-place Broncos held a slim 21-20 advantage at halftime but rallied for the 60-40 win to move their records to 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Two conference teams have winning streaks longer than the one CPP owns as Cal State L.A. and Cal State San Bernardino remain undefeated in league action at 6-0.
Thirteen Broncos saw action Saturday in Seaside and leading the way offensively were sophomore forward
Jordan Faison and senior guard
DeRonn Scott. The team shot 51.7 percent in the second half and the duo of Faison and Scott posted matching 6-for-10 efforts from the field.
CPP has yet to be outrebounded this season and on Saturday, the Broncos finished with a 42-32 edge on the boards. Sophomore
Francois Tchoyi paced the squad in that category with seven rebounds to match his career best.
Daniel Rodriguez added six boards of his own.
With the result, Monterey Bay dropped to 2-4 in conference play. Saturday's game marked the 20th all-time meeting between the two squads and CPP has gone 16-4, including wins in the last 11 matchups.
It took nearly five minutes for the first field goal to be made on Saturday at The Kelp Bed. Tchoyi made that first shot from the field to give the Broncos a 4-0 edge after he knocked down a pair of free throws earlier in the contest.
The two teams played mostly even through the opening half as a defensive struggle ensued. CPP put together a modest run later in the period with a pair of Scott jumpers helping the visitors take a 21-14 advantage.
The Otters closed out the half on a 6-0 run though, leaving the Broncos clinging to a 21-20 lead at the break.
The CPP offense elevated its play in the second half and on the opening possession, Faison tossed in a short shot after backing down in the paint. After a Monterey Bay trey from Evan Zeller tied the score at 23-23, the Broncos rallied for a 18-3 run that featured three-pointers from
Barry Bell and
Jordan Finn.
During that stretch, the three Otters' points came from free throws as CPP held the host squad without a field goal between the 18:20 and 11:25 marks.
The margin stayed in double digits for the final 13 minutes of the game and both defenses tightened up toward the end as free throws generated the only scoring in the final six minutes of action.
The Broncos will return to action Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. home game against San Francisco State. The Gators are just one win behind CPP in the standings at 4-2.
