POMONA, Calif. – A true battle of two defensive powerhouses was underway on Saturday as the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team fell to the UC San Diego Tritons 41-35 at Kellogg Arena. The loss marked the Broncos' first home loss of the season as they have now gone 9-1 at Kellogg Arena.
 
The Green and Gold's 9-1 home record is a part of their overall 16-4 record thus far in the 2015-16 season, complete with a 9-4 record in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The UC San Diego Tritons will remain in first place in the conference as they hold a CCAA record of 12-2 en route to their season tally of 17-3. The win for the Tritons marks the first time in the all-time series that they have won both games of the regular season against CPP.
 
Both squads struggled mightily to score on their opposition's nationally-ranked defense. The Broncos' defense comes in at second place on the national scale, while that of the Tritons pulls in at third. Defensive strength won out on Saturday.
 
Neither offense was able to sink more than 27% of their shots taken. Both teams made just 12 shots from the field. The Green and Gold did sink four three pointers and limited their visitors to just 2-of-20 long shots.
 
Jordan Faison led the CPP offense with nine points made. The Lake Forest native also added seven rebounds to his game resume. Joining Faison's rebounds with six of his own was Jeremy Dennis. Dennis provided his teammates with five points in the contest.
 
Barry Bell was the most efficient Bronco from the field as three of his shots hit their mark for eight points. Bell also secured five rebounds in the game and added two assists, and a game-leading three steals.
 
The Tritons went on an 11-point spree to close out the first half and open up the second. At halftime the score was 18-11 in the UCSD squad's favor. To open up half two, the Triton's offense added seven more points to the board.
 
CPP twice reached the seven-point streak and they did it back-to-back with just a Tritons layup dividing the two. The second seven brought the Broncos six back of the Tritons for the first time since the waning second of the first half.
 
Back-and-forth points closed out the game and the Tritons walked away victorious 41-35.
 
CPP will return to action on the road as they head north to challenge the Sonoma State Seawolves at their Den on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. SSU currently holds a 12-7 overall tally complete with a 7-6 mark in the CCAA.
 
After the Seawolves, CPP will focus its attention on the Gators of San Francisco State as they host the Broncos on Saturday Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. SFSU holds a 5-8 conference tally en route to their 11-8 overall record.