LOS ANGELES - BJ Standley knocked down four of his six three-pointers during a remarkable 26-5 run to end the first half and the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team never looked back in beating Cal State LA, 78-60, in a critical meeting of California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) foes at University Gym on Thursday night.

With the victory in 22nd-year head coach Greg Kamansky's milestone 600th game in charge, CPP improves to 9-8 overall and 5-8 in the CCAA. Cal State LA drops to 6-10 overall and 3-7 in league play. The Golden Eagles were winners of three in a row coming in, but that mini-streak actually went all the way back to Jan. 6, as the program has had seven contests wiped out by COVID-19 protocols since Jan. 8. The Broncos have had five such cancellations.

Entering Thursday's action at four games under .500 in the CCAA with a maximum of five regular-season games left on the slate, and thus needing a finishing sweep just to get above that mark, every date is crucial for CPP, and effectively a must-win affair. Only the top six in the final conference standings, determined this year by league winning percentage, will qualify for next month's CCAA Tournament in Arcata.

Standley and his teammates' efforts in Los Angeles, therefore kept the Broncos' season alive.

The first 10 minutes of the game featured four lead changes and a pair of tie scores. Chris Gayles Jr. rebounded a three-point miss by fellow redshirt freshman Christopher Mitchell, and turned it into a three-point play to pull CPP back to within two at 14-12 with 10:12 to go in the half. On the next Bronco possession following an Alexander Sokol triple, Gayles Jr. scored again.

Three Sokol free throws later, the Broncos trailed 20-14 with 9:03 left. That's when they began their decisive run. The first four points came from true freshman Dane Erikstrup, the team's second-leading scorer who had come off the bench several minutes earlier after missing the previous three games.

Standley's first three-pointer then gave CPP back a 21-20 edge. Rather incredibly, the senior guard went on to connect from deep on each of the next three trips down the court as well, to suddenly make it a 30-22 game with 5:02 to go in the period. Those were Standley's first 12 points of the night, coming in a crazy span of just 103 seconds, with the stretch forcing the hosts into a timeout.

Following a Standley steal and the under-four timeout, Phoenix Shackelford's basket extended the CPP advantage out to double digits for the first time, at 32-22. Shackelford got himself a steal and set up a third senior, Tavian Henderson, for an alley-oop at the 1:58 mark, and then blocked a Dominic Escobar jumper on the other end and assisted Jaden Winfield on a layup for a 38-25 cushion.

Winfield, a true freshman, scored again with the clock winding down, and just like that, the Broncos took a 40-25 lead into the halftime break.

The start to the second half saw the remaining two Standley threes back to back, wrapped around a Sokol triple, leaving it an 18-point game at 46-28. True freshman and first-time starter Caleb Nelson's first points of the night came in the form of a three-pointer, to maintain that same 18-point advantage at the under-16 timeout, 51-33. A Henderson dunk, assisted by Tay Aubry-Thomas, made it a 20-point bulge for the first time.

Cal Poly Pomona ultimately led by as many as 23 points at 60-37, 68-45 and 71-48, with Cal State LA never getting closer than 15.

Standley wound up with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc, to go along with four assists, two rebounds and a steal. The Vallejo product is on the cusp of the 1,000-point career milestone, now at 990. Backcourt mate Shackelford, already a member of that 1,000-point club, backed him with 17 points, five assists, three boards and three steals. Henderson just missed a double-double with 10 points and team highs of nine rebounds and five assists, adding two steals and a block. Erikstrup contributed eight points, four boards and two assists.

Cal Poly Pomona shot 49.2 percent (32-65) from the field, knocking down 10 of 30 attempts from deep, and made four of five free throws. The Broncos out-rebounded the Golden Eagles, 44-28.

Sokol led Cal State LA with a game-high 19 points, making four three-pointers. Adrease Jackson and Ben Uloko had 10 points apiece. The Golden Eagles shot at just a 33.9 percent (21-62) clip from the floor.

Cal Poly Pomona's final game of this lengthy road stretch, at No. 16 Cal State San Marcos this Saturday afternoon, Feb. 12, was canceled on Tuesday morning due to COVID-19 issues within the Cougar squad. The Broncos thus await one final home weekend for the 2021-22 campaign, beginning with a date with newly-renamed Cal Poly Humboldt (10-11, 4-11 CCAA) on Thursday night, Feb. 17. Tipoff at Kellogg Arena is slated for 7:30 p.m., following the women's game at 5:30 p.m. Please click here for CPP Athletics' latest basketball spectator policy.

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 426-174 (.710) overall and 314-127 (.712) in CCAA play under 22nd-year head coach and record five-time CCAA Coach of the Year Greg Kamansky ... Kamansky sent out a new starting lineup, with seniors Tavian Henderson, Phoenix Shackelford and BJ Standley joined by true freshmen Caleb Nelson and Jaden Winfield ... It was a first collegiate start for Nelson ... The Broncos have now used seven starting lineups this season ... Shackelford has played in all 105 games since his arrival at CPP, and is the lone Bronco to start all 17 contests this year ... Standley made six three-point baskets in a game for the second time as a collegian, both as a Bronco, having previously gone 6-of-8 from deep for an identical 18 points in a 67-54 home win over Cal State East Bay on Feb. 27, 2020 ... The Broncos are 5-4 away from home in 2021-22 ... This season's first meeting between these teams, in Pomona on Jan. 22, was called off due to COVID-19 protocols ... CPP leads the all-time series, 69-52, with seven successive wins since a 71-59 road loss on Jan. 7, 2017 ... The Broncos are 28-27 at Cal State LA since 1963-64, and have taken three consecutive matchups there since 2017 ... Under Kamansky, CPP is 35-6 against CSULA (16-4 on the road) ... The Broncos have more games (121 since 1954-55) and wins (69) against the Golden Eagles than any other opponent ... Milestone Watch: Standley has 990 career points (581 at Saint Martin's).