POMONA -- Phoenix Shackelford drained a three-pointer with 29 seconds left in regulation to pull the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team within a point, nearly erasing what had been a 10-point deficit with six minutes to play, but visiting Humboldt State was perfect at the free throw line four times in the final seconds and two long-range attempts by the Broncos rimmed off, resulting in a 70-65 loss to the Lumberjacks on New Year's Eve at Kellogg Arena in Pomona.

The Broncos fall to 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the CCAA.  The Lumberjacks, who have played seven more games than CPP this season, rise to 10-5 and are now 5-3 in conference action.

The first half proved to be a see-saw affair as both squads fought through four ties and nine lead changes in the opening 20 minutes of action.  The Broncos enjoyed a five-point 7-2 lead right out of the gate, but the Lumberjacks later went on an 8-0 run to turn a 26-25 deficit into a 33-26 lead with 2:40 left in the opening half, but CPP finished out the half on a 9-2 run to force the 35-35 tie at the intermission.

It was all HSU to open the second stanza as they scored the first seven points after halftime.  However, CPP scored the next six points to get within a point at 42-41 with 16:24 left.  From then on, the Humboldt State capitalized on eight Cal Poly Pomona turnovers, turning them into 14 points on the other end of the floor to distance themselves from the hosts for most of the final frame.

Trailing by nine points with 2:37 left on the clock, the Broncos went on another 9-1 run, capped by Shackelford's three-ball at 0:29 to make it 66-65 in favor of HSU, but the 'Jacks pulled away in the end for the upset win.

William Christmas finished the ballgame with team highs of 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists to lead CPP and Shackelford came off the bench to add a season-high 16 points, 12 of which came from the three-point arc.  No other CPP player scored more than six points in the contest.  

Humboldt State was led by the 25 points from Jackson Strong, who went 7 for 15 from three-point range.  Justin Everett chipped in with 17 points.

Cal Poly Pomona will open the 2019 calendar year at Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, tipping off from Coussoulis Arena at 3:00 pm.