POMONA - Cal Poly Pomona was unable to find a key bucket down the stretch and was edged by Cal State East Bay, 57-53, in a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) men's basketball contest Saturday at Kellogg Arena.

CPP falls to 7-7 overall and 3-7 in the CCAA. Cal State East Bay improves to 5-12 overall and 3-8 in league play. CPP began the day having won seven consecutive meetings and 16 of the last 17, including a 71-46 decision in this season's initial matchup in Hayward on Dec. 16.

The game opened as a bit of a three-pointer duel, with two by East Bay's Zack Perlstein ahead of answers by Bronco senior BJ Standley and true freshman Jaden Winfield. The Broncos jumped ahead on baskets by first-time starter Tay Aubry-Thomas and Tavian Henderson, the latter a two-handed alley-oop dunk off the delicate Phoenix Shackelford feed. After Christopher Mitchell entered for the first time and made it 12-6, East Bay produced a 9-0 run through threes on consecutive trips.

Mitchell later countered a Kaito Williams three-pointer with a triple of his own. The visitors remained on top at the under-four timeout, 27-21. By halftime, the Broncos had closed to within a single point at 29-28. Chris Gayles Jr. got his hands on a steal and scored it on the other end to make it 27-23. CPP then notched the final five points of the half in the last minute, getting a Shackelford three and a third Gayles Jr. steal in a span of 2:05 that led to a Mitchell layup.

The Broncos' 28 first-half points, on 46.2 percent (12-26) shooting from the field, came from nine different players of the 10 who saw action.

Shackelford's layup from an Aubry-Thomas assist to begin the second half gave CPP back the lead at 30-29. The Broncos proceeded to hold the Pios scoreless over the first 5:38 of the period, while getting a three-pointer from Shackelford and single free throws from its senior leader and Aubry-Thomas for a 35-29 edge. When Justin Vigil finally dropped in a basket for East Bay, it ended a run without a point for the guests going back to late in the first half, of 6:57.

East Bay went on to score 10 points in a row to wrestle back a 39-35 lead heading toward the midway point of the half, before a Shackelford basket. The Pioneers were still up 43-39 at the under-eight timeout. Coming out of that break, true freshman Jordan Carpenter got position underneath on a Shackelford three-point attempt, grabbed the rebound and put the ball back up and in to make it a one-possession game.

A straightaway Gayles Jr. three-pointer tied the game again at 45-45, but Vigil responded with a step-back triple from the left wing. Moments later, Shackelford caught a Pioneer air ball and perfectly lofted a long pass ahead for Gayles Jr. to gather and glide in for the lay-in as CPP called a timeout trailing 48-47 at the 4:10 mark.

Coming out of another timeout still down 50-48 with under two minutes left, CPP produced two offensive rebounds but came up empty. After a pair of Pioneer free throws and a Bronco miss, Williams hit a dagger three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to seal the victory. The hosts went 3:59 without a field goal following the basket at 4:10, going 0-for-6 during that stretch.

Playing for the first time this season without second-leading scorer Dane Erikstrup, the Broncos got 13 points from Shackelford and a season-high 11 from Gayles Jr. Shackelford also had six assists and seven rebounds, while Gayles Jr. collected a game-high four steals. Henderson grabbed a game-high 12 boards. Mitchell scored seven points off the bench.

Williams led all players with 18 points in a reserve role for East Bay, going 6-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-6 from deep. Vigil joined him in double figures with 11 points. Perlstein had nine points on 3-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. DJ Sanders dished out six assists.

The Broncos held East Bay to just 34.6 percent (18-52) shooting from the floor as a team, and out-rebounded the Pioneers by a 42-32 count, but allowed 10 three-pointers, second-most by a CPP opponent this year. The home side's 37.0 percent (20-54) shot clip was its third-lowest of the campaign, with seven missed free throws also a factor.

Cal Poly Pomona now embarks on a season-long four-game road stretch, beginning at No. 13 Chico State (13-2, 9-2 CCAA) on Thursday night, Feb. 3. Tipoff at Acker Gym is slated for 7:30 p.m., following the women's game at 5:30 p.m.

All CCAA basketball contests throughout this 2021-22 season are streaming 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 CCAA Network has moved to a subscription-based model at just $9.95 per month. Subscribers have access to all CCAA broadcasts, both live and on-demand.

Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 424-173 (.710) overall and 312-126 (.712) in CCAA play under 22nd-year head coach and record five-time CCAA Coach of the Year Greg Kamansky ... Kamansky sent out his sixth different starting lineup of the season, with seniors Tavian Henderson, Phoenix Shackelford and BJ Standley joined by sophomore Tay Aubry-Thomas and true freshman Jaden Winfield ... It was a first start in the green and gold for Aubry-Thomas ... Shackelford has played in all 102 games since his arrival at CPP, and is the lone Bronco to start all 14 contests this year ... Shackelford surpassed two career milestones, now with 303 rebounds and 201 assists ... True freshman Dane Erikstrup missed his first game of the season after starting each of the first 13 ... Henderson's first rebound of the day gave him 200 for his two-year Bronco career ... Christopher Mitchell returned to the court after missing his first game of the year Thursday against Cal State Dominguez Hills ... Jordan Carpenter scored a season-high six points ... Redshirt freshman Chris Gayles Jr. entered the game with one steal on the year before getting his hands on three of them over a 125-second span late in the first half, and finishing the contest with four ... The Broncos are 4-4 at home in 2021-22 ... CPP still leads 31-9 in the all-time series that dates back to 1962-63 (14-6 in Pomona) ... The Broncos had won seven in a row over the Pioneers, including three straight home matchups, since a 78-69 loss in Pomona on Dec. 15, 2016 ... CPP is 20-3 against CSUEB under Kamansky (9-3 in Pomona) ... Milestone Watch: Standley has 953 career points (581 at Saint Martin's).