POMONA, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team will defend their flawless season as they head north to challenge the Otters of Cal State Monterey Bay and the Cal State East Bay Pioneers over the course of the next week.
Heading into the showdown against the Bays, the Broncos have a perfect 8-0 record, complete with a pair of wins in the opening week of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play. Last week, the Green and Gold topped the Golden Eagles of Cal State LA and the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros to kick off CCAA competition.
The first challenge for the Broncos will come from Cal State Monterey Bay at the Kelp Bed, the Otters' home court. Playing on Dec. 13, the Sunday competition will be held at 3 p.m. in Seaside. Thus far this season, the Otters have compiled a 2-5 overall record and their only CCAA matchup resulted in an 81-62 loss to the UC San Diego Tritons.
CPP is led by senior
Jordan Faison in total points, points per game average, and total rebounds. The Lake Forest native has tallied 140 points and is averaging 17.5 points per game as his 60-for-93 showing from the floor lands him at a .645 shooting percentage. Efficiency-wise, Faison trails only
Francois Tchoyi who leads the squad with a .667 average. Faison has also pulled down 57 total rebounds for a team-leading 7.1 per contest.
A pair of Broncos are shooting 50% from the arc. Freshman
Jordan Ogundiran leads the team with 13 long distance buckets in his 26 attempts. Right on the newcomer's tail is
Quentin Taylor. The junior guard has sank 12-of-24 treys that he has shot.
From the free throw line, there are three Broncos tied at .778 shooting. Leading the squad in total free throws made is
Jeremy Dennis. The Richmond native has sank 21-of-27 shots en route to his .778 shooting. Taylor and Ogundiran each have notched 7-of-9 shots from the line for their .778.
Barry Bell, senior guard from Oakland, leads the Broncos in a pair of categories himself. Owning the title of team player, Bell has dished out 31 assists on the season. He has also recorded 17 steals thus far in the Green and Gold's 8 games.
Looking at the Otters' squad, they are led offensively by senior Ryan Nitz. The Rancho Cucamonga native has averaged 18.7 points per game and has totaled 131 points. Nitz also leads the team with 37 total rebounds thus far in their seven games.
After the Broncos challenge the Otters, they will head a little bit further north as they settle in Hayward to play the Pioneers of Cal State East Bay. Tuesday's contest will take place at the usual 7:30 p.m. time. The Pioneers have split their contests in the CCAA, topping Cal State San Bernardino in the conference opener then falling by three to Chico State last Saturday. Overall on the season, the CSUEB team has a 3-4 tally.
