SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The No. 11 Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team was unable to keep up with No. 21 Cal State San Bernardino in the second half and fell, 83-62, in the much-anticipated California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener between nationally-ranked area rivals at Coussoulis Arena on Saturday afternoon.

With its first loss of the year, CPP drops to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in the CCAA. Cal State San Bernardino remains unbeaten at 6-0 overall and 1-0 in league play. Both teams had used perfect starts to their campaigns to move into's Tuesday first in-season National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Poll after each was receiving votes outside of the top 25 in its preseason edition. The Broncos and Coyotes combined for five first-place nods and were picked to place third and second, respectively, in the CCAA's preseason coaches' poll.

Phoenix Shackelford scored CPP's first 11 points and had 19 by halftime en route to game and career highs of 25 points. The senior out of Fairfield shot 9-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-6 from long range, and reached 900 points for his career.

Cal State San Bernardino shot 54.1 percent (20-37) in the second half, to just 38.1 percent (8-21) by the Broncos, rallying from a 38-34 deficit at the break behind runs of 10-0 and 7-0.

Shackelford answered back-to-back three-pointers by the Yotes for openers with a deep ball of his own to get the Broncos on the board. He then added a layup after Eddie Davis' second triple already of the contest. True freshman Jaden Winfield's free throw after the initial media timeout broke the Shackelford run and tied the contest at 12-12.

After Brandon Knapper's second triple of the afternoon, redshirt freshman Christopher Mitchell got the steal near his own basket, and on the opposite end, found Shackelford for a wide-open triple and 15-15. Moments later, Mitchell grabbed the rebound off a Tay Aubry-Thomas miss and put it right back up and in for the Broncos' first lead at 19-17.

Shackelford remained unconscious, as he passed ahead to Chris Gayles Jr., curled around to the right baseline, got the ball back from the redshirt freshman, and knocked down his third three-pointer for a 22-21 lead. A steal and fast-break layup by the Yotes' Jaylin McFadden broke a 22-22 tie. Caleb Nelson's triple a short time after that for CPP sent the game into the under-eight timeout at 26-25 in favor of the home side. The true freshman added a jumper and another triple to give the visitors a 30-28 lead with five and a half minutes remaining in the half.

Following two Knapper free throws, Nelson kept up his scoring battle with Shackelford, taking a pass from his veteran teammate and knocking down yet another deep three-pointer from the top of the key for 33-30.

Two free throws each by true freshman Dane Erikstrup and Shackelford extended the advantage to 37-32. Erikstrup then split a pair from the line, with Darius Lubom hitting two from the stripe to send the teams into the locker room with Cal Poly Pomona on top, 38-34.

CPP held CSUSB without a field goal over the last 7:46 as the Yotes went 0-for-7 from the floor with five turnovers over the remainder of the half. They did not score between a pair of Davis free throws with 4:04 to go, and Lubom's two with seven ticks left. Shackelford and Nelson combined for 30 of the Broncos' 38.

In the second half, Shackelford passed ahead for a two-handed fast-break dunk by fellow senior Tavian Henderson, with a foul shot making it 45-41. On CPP's next offensive possession after another Knapper three, Mitchell fed down low for another two-hand jam by Henderson.

Trailing 48-46, CSUSB notched the next 10 points. Daytone Jennings started the stretch with a game-tying basket. Lubom then regained the lead for the Yotes with a three, and Knapper punctuated the run with a layup. Shackelford got a free throw and a bucket to steady the ship temporarily, but the home side would not relinquish the momentum.

An acrobatic reverse layup by Jennings made it 60-51 and preceded a Davis three-pointer as the Yotes began to pull away. Back-to-back three-pointers by Mitchell and Shackelford pulled the deficit back down to single digits one last time at 65-57. The hosts had the answer again, however, as Knapper connected from deep and the next five points in all went the Yotes' way.

Mitchell finished with 12 points and Nelson had a season-high 11, making all three shots from long range. Erikstrup grabbed nine rebounds. Shackelford added four assists, four boards and two steals.

Knapper hit for 23 for the Yotes, and Davis had 21, as the duo combined for seven of their team's nine three-pointers. Davis completed a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds. Lubom and Jennings also reached double figures in scoring with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Lubom dished out eight assists to lead all players.

Cal Poly Pomona returns home to take on Stanislaus State and No. 12 Chico State next weekend in more CCAA action. The Broncos welcome in the Warriors first on Thursday night, Dec. 2, with tipoff slated for 7:30 p.m. after the women's game at 5:30 p.m.

All CCAA basketball contests throughout this 2021-22 season will stream live online via the CCAA Network at www.ccaanetwork.com. Fans may also download the CCAA Network app on your iOS or Android smartphone, tablet, or through web streaming devices such as Amazon Fire, Roku or Apple TV. The broadcasts are free of charge through the remainder of the 2021 calendar year. Admission into Kellogg Arena is free for CPP students, staff and faculty.

Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 421-167 (.716) overall and 309-120 (.720) in CCAA play under 22nd-year head coach and record five-time CCAA Coach of the Year Greg Kamansky ... CPP is 10-11 in CCAA openers in the Kamansky era (2-4 vs. CSUSB) ... The Broncos had won two straight CCAA lid-lifters prior to a 72-70 overtime loss at home to the Yotes on Nov. 21, 2019 ... The Broncos' starting five consisted of seniors Tavian Henderson and Phoenix Shackelford, redshirt freshman Christopher Mitchell, and true freshmen Dane Erikstrup and Jaden Winfield, for the fifth game in a row to begin the season ... Shackelford has five 20-point efforts for his career and three this year, producing the game high in all three ... Shackelford matched his single-game career best of four made three-pointers ... The Broncos are 1-1 on the road in 2021-22, while the Coyotes are 3-0 at home ... CPP is 36-28 in the all-time series that dates back to 1989-90, including 13-18 in San Bernardino ... The Broncos are 23-21 against the Yotes under Kamansky (8-13 at CSUSB) ... The Broncos were swept in the 2019-20 season series, with both losses in overtime by three total points ... CPP has lost five of seven to CSUSB after winning seven straight ... CPP is 118-58 all-time as a nationally-ranked squad (61-40 away from home) ... Under Kamansky, the Broncos are 3-9 in games involving two nationally-ranked teams, and 26-28 against ranked foes (12-20 away from home) ... CPP's No. 11 national ranking is its highest since it was No. 8 in the fifth week of the 2018-19 season ... Milestone Watch: Shackelford has 900 career points, while Henderson has 448 rebounds (311 at Saint Martin's).