MONMOUTH, Ore. – After an intense back-and-forth finish down the stretch with Cal Baptist on Friday afternoon, the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team was dealt a 70-63 loss in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
The result ends the Broncos' season with an overall record of 22-8. The CPP seniors – Jordan Faison, Barry Bell and Francois Tchoyi – helped the Broncos reach the NCAA Tournament in four-consecutive years.
 
Three CPP players finished in double figures, including Jeremy Dennis scoring 12 while Bell and Jordan Ogundiran added 11 apiece. Ogundiran contributed a season-high eight rebounds while Bell dished out five assists and added two blocks.

CBU's Gelaun Wheelwright led all scorers with 21 points on 6-for-17 shooting.
 
After the Broncos cut the Lancers' lead to 12-9 early in the contest, CBU rattled off a 7-0 run to push the gap to double digits.
 
Helped by a long jumper from Chris Sullivan and then an offensive putback from Tchoyi on the next possession, the Broncos rallied to take their first lead at 20-19 after an 11-0 spurt of their own. A Bell triple capped off that stretch.
 
The two teams traded the lead late in the half before an Ogundiran three-pointer at the 4:15 mark put CPP back ahead 23-22.
 
With Bell drawing contact in the final seconds, the Broncos managed to take a 31-29 lead into the break. At that point, Faison had a team-high nine points while Bell contributed seven and Sullivan added six.
 
The two teams were fairly even statistically at halftime while the turnover battle helped CPP as the Broncos committed just three and forced seven from the Lancers.
 
To start the second half, CBU bounced back with an 8-1 run that included a Michael Smith three-pointer to beat the shot clock. Defense kept the Broncos within striking distance though and a trey by Dennis at the 12:02 mark pulled CPP to within 42-37.
 
Gaining momentum as a team, freshman Scott Hastings provided several stops on defense and then tied the game at 49-49 with a layup. Two possessions later, Dennis knocked down a jumper to put the Broncos ahead.
 
The Lancers put together an impressive finish though, outscoring the Broncos 19-10 in the final five minutes to close out the first-round win. In the last minute of play, CBU went 10-for-12 at the free throw line.
 
Through the history of the NCAA Tournament, the Broncos are now 23-11 with 12 appearances. With nine points in Friday's season finale, Faison finished his CPP career with 1,600 points to rank at No. 2 on the program's all-time leaderboard. Bell totaled 378 assists as a Bronco, also ranking at No. 2 all-time in that category for CPP.
 
2016 NCAA Div. II Men's Basketball West Regional Tournament
New P.E. Building – Monmouth, Ore.
Hosted by Western Oregon University
All times listed as PDT

Friday, Mar. 11 - Quarterfinals
Noon: No. 6 Cal Poly Pomona defeated by No. 3 California Baptist, 70-63
2:30 pm: No. 7 Chico State (22-6) vs No. 2 UC San Diego (22-7)
5:00 pm: No. 5 Azusa Pacific (22-8) vs No. 4 Seattle Pacific (22-8)
7:30 pm: No. 8 Humboldt State (21-8) vs No. 1 Western Oregon (27-3)

Saturday, March 12 - Semifinals
5:00 pm: Cal Baptist vs CSUC/UCSD winner
7:30 pm: APU/SPU winner vs HSU/WOU winner

Monday, March 14 - Championship
7:00 pm: Semifinal winners