STOCKTON, Calif. – After advancing to the CCAA Tournament semifinal round for the ninth-consecutive season, Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball suffered a 72-65 loss to UC San Diego Friday in a battle of nationally-ranked teams.
Three Broncos finished in double figures, including freshman
Jordan Ogundiran leading the way with 14 points.
Quentin Taylor added 13 points while
Jordan Faison collected 12. Ogundiran dished out a team-high five assists.
CPP (22-7 overall) and the Tritons (22-6) matched each other in shooting accuracy from the field but the Broncos couldn't capitalize on free throw opportunities, going 13-for-22 at the line.
Along with the other West Region squads in contention, CPP will await the NCAA.com selection show that will air on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. The top eight teams from the West Region will advance and in the latest poll, the Broncos ranked at No. 7.
The Broncos fell behind 9-1 early Friday after missing their first six shot attempts. CPP's first basket was a Taylor layup at the 14:37 mark as the Broncos worked to chip away at the margin.
With 6:25 remaining in the opening half, Adam Klie dropped in a layup to extend UCSD's advantage to 12 points at 21-9 for the largest margin of the period.
The Broncos then quickly built a 7-0 run to pull within striking distance. A 20-second span in that stretch featured a three-pointer and layup from Taylor.
Chris Sullivan's trey at the 1:20 mark pulled CPP to within three points going into the final minute of the half but the Tritons rallied to take a 32-24 edge into intermission.
The gap widened to 14 points early in the second half but a
Barry Bell three-pointer cut UCSD's lead to 49-39. Then out of a timeout, Faison scored back-to-back baskets to pull the Broncos within six.
Through the final 10 minutes of the game, CPP couldn't manage to pull closer than a seven-point margin.
Saturday's CCAA Tournament title game between UCSD and Humboldt State will start at 5:05 p.m. in Stockton Arena. Earlier in the other semifinal matchup, the Jacks of HSU topped Cal State L.A. 79-54.
