POMONA – It came down to the wire Thursday night as Cal Poly Pomona returned to CCAA action, but the Broncos dropped a close 73-70 loss to Humboldt State.
 
The Broncos slip to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while the Jacks improve to 7-1, 3-0 CCAA.
 
Dominique Dotson led CPP with 15 points, with Ayah League contributing 13 points off the bench. Jackie Ricketson also finished the night in double figures with 11 points. Kasey Smit was just two points away from a double-double with eight points and 14 boards.
 
CPP found itself trailing by 10 points at halftime, 35-25, and came out of the break determined to chip away at the margin.
 
HSU extended its lead to 14 points with just over three minutes left in the third, but Dotson drained a trey to cut the margin to single digits, 50-42. League followed with a jumper to put the Broncos within two possessions as momentum started building for CPP.
 
In the final 10 minutes, CPP dug deep. Down 59-50, the Broncos went on a 7-0 run to force a Jack timeout. Lauryn Catching banked in an offensive rebound to start the spree, with Dotson scoring on a fastbreak and drawing a foul. She completed the and-one and then stole the ball away, where Catching laid it in the basket, 59-57.
 
Heading down the stretch, intensity built as neither team was ready to roll over. Catching cut the Jacks' upper hand to just one point, 62-61, with four minutes and change to play, but HSU managed to keep its distance.
 
The Jacks built a seven-point lead under the two-minute mark, but CPP continued to battle. League came back into the game and rattled in a shot with less than 30 seconds left on the clock to put the Broncos within two, 70-68.  
 
HSU built back a two-possession lead, 72-68, with 15 seconds remaining in the game.
 
With four seconds left, Jayda Villareal found a lane and drove to the basket to put CPP back within a basket, 72-70. The Jacks called a timeout and the Broncos proceeded to foul to try to get the ball back. After missing the first free throw, HSU made the second to go up by three.
 
The Broncos called a timeout with two seconds left and tried to get the buzzer-beater off to force extra time, but it was off target as HSU grabbed the game 73-70.
 
CPP looks to rebound on the road, heading to Chico State on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. tip off.