POMONA, Calif. – After a successful exhibition road trip, where the Broncos held their own against two Division I powerhouses, the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team kicked off the regular season with a 85-62 trouncing of the Warriors of Westmont.
 
CPP and Westmont now hold a 1-0 and an 0-1 record, respectively. Four Broncos finished in double figures, including a career-high 21 points for Daniel Rodriguez. The CPP defense forced 24 turnovers while collecting 15 steals, led by Terrence Drisdom who tallied five steals of his own. 
 
To say the Broncos came out of the gate on fire is an understatement. A three-pointer from Rodriguez started off a relentless onslaught of points by the Broncos' offense, while their nationally recognized defense earned their keep.
 
The CPP squad posted 22 points prior to the Warriors' first mark. Westmont's first basket came with 5:55 gone from the clock, enough time for Rodriguez to put up eight points, Quentin Taylor to record two, and Drisdom to collect 12.  
 
After the three for Westmont, Jordan Finn took the CPP lead back up to 22 with a three-pointer of his own. Before the halftime buzzer, Jordan Faison would add a few points of his own while Barry Bell, Rhon Mitchell, and Ryan Hall would also contribute to the Broncos' lead.
 
As the two teams entered halftime, the score stood at 46-25 in favor of CPP.
 
Through the first half, the Broncos shot 20-for-29 from the field, which is a 69-percent shooting mark. From the three-point line, the CPP squad shot 55.6-percent, with five of their nine shots being good, and 1-for-1 with Drisdom's free throw.
 
Beginning the second half, the Broncos quickly added a couple of steals to their defensive stats, and much like the first half, Rodriguez posted the first points for CPP.
 
Through the half, the Broncos glimpsed a 30-point lead a couple of times, as they hovered around the mid-twenties margin. On two different occasions, points by Rodriguez and Taylor put the CPP offense 28 points ahead of the Warriors.
  
Half number two saw the Broncos with a 51.9-percent shooting tally as 14 of the 27 shots found their mark. Three of the six CPP threes made a dent for the offense, and the Broncos sunk eight of their 12 free throws.
 
The half saw the Broncos add eight steals and 39 points to the game, which brought them up to their end score of 85. Westmont's offense was a bit more active in the second half as they collected 37 points of their own.

A thunderous dunk by Mitchell in the waning minutes of the game got the crowd to its feet for the remainder of the game. Four more CPP points by Ray Ray Chase and Daylan Lawrence and the Broncos secured the 85-62 victory.
 
CPP will return to action Saturday night at 7:30  as they will take on the Cougars of Azusa Pacific in Kellogg Gym. APU won 92-60 over fellow CCAA school Cal State San Bernardino on Friday.