POMONA, Calif. – In a defensive battle at Kellogg Arena, the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team suffered a 64-62 loss to nationally-ranked UC San Diego on Tuesday in the conference opener.
Both teams shot 33.3 percent from the field while the Broncos went 21-for-25 at the free throw line. CPP held a 19-point lead late in the first half and took a 33-21 edge into the break.
The Tritons rallied in the second half though to secure the two-point victory. With the result, the Broncos fall to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). UCSD improves to 6-1 overall and 1-0 through league play.
Sophomore guard
Jordan Ogundiran scored a team-high 23 points, including a 12-for-14 showing at the free throw line. He also grabbed 10 rebounds to earn a double-double performance.
Joining him in double figures were
Jeremy Dennis and
William Christmas, who tallied point totals of 13 and 10 respectively.
The Broncos won the turnover battle, forcing 15 from the Tritons and committing just 10. UCSD finished with a 49-31 advantage in rebounding.
Five minutes into the contest, an Ogundiran triple broke a 6-6 tie and started a 9-0 run for the home team.
Henry Cornelious capped off that spurt with a jumper that came with a Christmas assist.
With 3:20 left in the opening half, Christmas dropped in a layup to give the Broncos their largest advantage in the game at 32-13. The Tritons managed to post a three-point play on their final possession of the half to trim the gap to 33-21.
Continuing on that same run, UCSD knocked down a three-pointer at the 16:39 mark in the second half to make it a 33-28 score in favor of CPP. Ogundiran snapped the scoring drought with a pair of free throws but after the teams traded the lead a few times, the Tritons seized it for the last time at 9:39.
With plenty of stops and starts in the final minute, Ogundiran continued to sink free throws to keep the Broncos in contention. UCSD managed to go 7-for-8 at the line in the final minute to keep CPP from tying the score or taking the lead.
The Broncos will return to action Friday with a 7:30 p.m. road game at San Francisco State.
