LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 20th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team shaved a 20-point halftime deficit down to nine, but ultimately succumbed to No. 5 UC San Diego, 69-57, in a critical California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) matchup Thursday night at RIMAC Arena.

With its win streak snapped at four, Cal Poly Pomona falls to 12-4 overall and 8-3 in the CCAA. UC San Diego's eighth victory in a row moves it to 16-1 overall and 10-1 in league play. The Tritons had also taken the season's first meeting, 66-56, in Pomona back on Dec. 22.

UC San Diego and the Broncos had gone 1-2 in the CCAA preseason coaches' poll after sharing the regular-season title a year ago, with the Tritons now a full two games up on CPP in the league standings. The Broncos drop from a three-way tie for second, into fourth.

Playing in front of 2,331 spectators on UC San Diego's annual Spirit Night, reigning CCAA Player of the Week Riley Schaefer got things going with a driving, spinning layup for the first points of the contest. The Broncos trailed 10-6 at the first media timeout despite four points, one rebound and an assist already by the fourth-year senior.

Junior Tavian Henderson hit a pair of free throws to snap a 9-0 Triton run and scoreless stretch for CPP of 4:27, for a 19-10 deficit. Henderson had also registered the previous two points through a layup. Another prolonged run by the hosts, this one at 8-0 and bookended by two triples by senior Christian Oshita, made it an uphill climb as CPP head coach Greg Kamansky was forced to call a timeout, down 27-10.

Schaefer's layup coming out of the break ended a field goal drought for the Broncos of exactly seven minutes.

After CPP had missed its first six three-point attempts on the night, William Christmas' triple made it a 35-19 game. Fellow fourth-year senior Justin Young, who had missed the previous two contests through injury and came off the bench in this one, received a pass and spun his defender toward the baseline for a big dunk and 39-21, but the Broncos trailed 41-21 at halftime. They shot just 33.3 percent (9-27) from the field and committed nine turnovers, to 48.4 percent (15-31) and four turnovers by the Tritons who knocked down eight of 13 three-pointers.

Down by as many as 24 early in the second half, back-to-back pull-up triples from Nikhil Peters got the Broncos within 17 at 52-35 as UC San Diego called for time. Christmas then registered a steal and fed Peters ahead for another bucket, an 8-0 personal run by the senior, and 52-37.

After another empty Triton possession, Mason Dickerson found fellow junior BJ Standley for a corner triple to extend it to an 11-0 run and get within 52-40 at the under-12 timeout with 11:41 to go.

Later, Henderson picked up Standley's pass into the post and threw it down, making it 56-45 at the under-eight interval. The Broncos whittled it down to single digits at 56-47 through a Schaefer bucket, but the home side responded with the next four points.

A corner three-pointer from Schaefer made it 60-50, and a three-point play down low by Christmas got it to 62-53 with 4:32 to go. Alas, the Broncos just could not get any closer than nine during the second half.

Christmas paced CPP with 18 points and was joined in double figures by Schaefer's 11. Christmas also had team bests of six rebounds and three assists, alongside one steal and a block. CPP held a 38-28 advantage in points in the paint, and shot 57.7 percent (15-26) after the intermission.

Oshita and fellow senior Scott Everman shared the game high with 22 points apiece. Oshita, the CCAA's second-leading scorer, posted a double-double with 12 boards. The Tritons got zero bench points.

Cal Poly Pomona heads back down to San Diego County this Saturday afternoon to take on Cal State San Marcos. Tipoff inside The Sports Center is slated for 3 p.m., with free coverage on the CCAA Network.

Bronco Bits: For the second time this season, Cal Poly Pomona opened with the starting lineup of seniors William Christmas, Nikhil Peters and Riley Schaefer, and juniors Phoenix Shackelford and BJ Standley ... It marked a fifth start in succession for Standley ... Senior Justin Young played in a reserve role after missing the previous two games due to injury following 88-consecutive appearances ... Shackelford was held scoreless for the first time this year and second as a collegian ... CPP's 21 first-half points were a season low, with the 20-point halftime deficit its largest of the year ... The Broncos are 8-2 outside of Pomona in 2019-20, including 6-1 in true road games following its first such defeat ... CPP has still won 10 of its last 12 contests ... Greg Kamansky is 406-163 (.714) over his career and 300-117 (.719) in CCAA play ... In the Kamansky era, the Broncos are 3-8 in games when both teams were ranked in the NABC poll ... Also under Kamansky, CPP is 110-51 as a nationally-ranked squad, 24-27 against ranked opponents, and 26-17 versus UC San Diego, although the Tritons have won 11 of the past 14 matchups, and the last four in a row ... CPP had last played in La Jolla on Spirit Night two seasons ago on Feb. 9, 2018, returning home with an 80-69 victory ... That was in fact the Broncos' previous visit to RIMAC Arena ... CPP has managed less than 60 points in a game twice this season, both times against UC San Diego ... The Broncos were featured on ESPN3 Thursday night, likely for the first time ever.