POMONA - Cal Poly Pomona had five student-athletes in double-figure scoring among numerous highlights and held off Sonoma State University, 77-63, in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) men's basketball action on Senior Day Saturday at Kellogg Arena.
A third victory in succession moves CPP to 11-8 overall and 7-8 in the CCAA. Sonoma State falls to 3-23 overall and 3-17 in league play. The last-place Seawolves have now dropped 11 in a row since taking this season's first meeting between the teams, 91-85 in overtime, in Rohnert Park on Jan. 13. They are a winless 0-15 away from home.
The weekend home sweep keeps the Broncos' postseason hopes very much alive. CPP got additional help on Saturday, as Cal State East Bay lost at home to Cal State Monterey Bay in the afternoon, 77-67, and later at night, San Francisco State was downed at Cal State Dominguez Hills, 67-56. The Broncos thus moved from eighth into sixth, leaping over the Pioneers and Gators, and if the season ended tonight, they would be in the six-team CCAA Tournament field in Arcata next month.
With his 18 points,
BJ Standley became the second Bronco this season to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone for his career, joining backcourt partner
Phoenix Shackelford. The Vallejo product is now at 1,011, with the first 581 coming over his two seasons at Saint Martin's University.
Shackelford, Standley and
Tavian Henderson were the three CPP seniors recognized prior to the start. It was a 53rd and final home appearance for fifth-year Bronco Shackelford without missing one. Henderson joined high school teammate Standley in transferring over from Saint Martin's following the 2018-19 season.
The trio contributed heavily Saturday, combining for 40 of the Broncos' 77 points as all three scored in double figures. Henderson posted his third collegiate double-double, all coming this season, with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and a team-high 10 rebounds, to go along with five assists and two steals. Shackelford got to 10 points, as he has reached double digits in all 19 contests in his final college go-around. Standley added three boards, three steals and a game- and season-high seven assists, while Shackelford had four assists, two rebounds, a game- and season-best five steals, and CPP's lone block.
Standley snapped a slow start by both sides with a left-wing three-pointer at the 17:32 mark, and Cal Poly Pomona led for the duration. The Broncos in fact were never behind or even tied beyond 0-0 this entire weekend, starting both contests off with Standley triples and leading for 76:27 of the 80 total minutes.
Henderson got the rebound of a miss on the ensuing Sonoma State possession, pushed ahead to Standley, and got it back from his long-time teammate for the two-handed alley-oop jam.
A Jeremy Lillis three finally put the visitors on the board at 16:55, and two
Dane Erikstrup free throws gave the Broncos a 7-3 lead at the first media timeout.
It didn't take long for CPP's third senior, Shackelford, to get involved, as he simply wrestled the ball away from Nick Klarman near the top of the key and drove all the way to the cup for the easy lay-in. The ball got poked away again on SSU's next trip, back into Shackelford's possession. The Fairfield native was credited with a second straight steal, and pushed ahead to Standley, who in turn dropped it off again with a behind-the-back bounce pass for a Shackelford triple.
CPP led 16-11 at the under-12 timeout, and Standley's second three-pointer made it 19-13. Coming out of the under-eight timeout with a 28-15 advantage, a third Standley triple made it a 16-point bulge and pushed the third-year Bronco over the 1,000-point mark.
The half ended on an 8-0 run by Sonoma State that made it just a seven-point game at the interval, 33-26.
The second half began with Standley's fourth and final three-point make to give the hosts a double-digit cushion once more at 36-26.
Clinging to just a 49-45 edge at the under-12 timeout after six straight by SSU, CPP saw its redshirt freshman,
Chris Gayles Jr., catch fire over the next two minutes. Back-to-back triples pushed it back to a 10-point margin at 55-45 and forced a Seawolf timeout. The Palmdale native then answered a Wesley Gilbert dunk with another bucket, and moments later, threw in a third three to give him 11 points in a span of 1:56, and the Broncos a 60-47 lead at the under-eight timeout.
Out of that break, Gayles Jr. and Standley's double-team defense on Jordan Montgomery led to a turnover. Shackelford took the steal and gave it to Standley, who hit Gayles Jr., with Henderson the beneficiary of a final pass via a wide-open reverse jam.
A similarly-impressive sequence occurred just before the final media timeout to make it 70-56. Henderson stole it and fed ahead to Shackelford, who left it behind his back for Standley. Standley somehow found Henderson through traffic with a whipped right-handed pass from beyond the three-point arc on the right wing, for Henderson's fourth dunk. The Broncos cruised for the final 3:51 from there.
Gayles Jr. poured in a game-high 19 points in just 19 minutes off the bench, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from deep, and hitting three of his four free throw attempts. He came into the game just 3-for-18 from three-point range on the year, and made multiple triples in a game for his first time as a collegian. Erikstrup was the fifth Bronco in double digits, with 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Cal Poly Pomona notched 20 assists on its 30 made field goals, reaching the 20-assist mark for the second time this season, both coming during this three-game win streak. The Broncos shot 53.6 percent (30-56).
Kenny Olsem (12), Damian Wallace (12), Jaylen Wells (10) and Jacob Williams (11) all scored in double figures for Sonoma State. Wells completed a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds, and also led the Seawolves with five assists.
Cal Poly Pomona heads up to Northern California in the week ahead for two final regular-season games. The Broncos first face Cal State Monterey Bay (13-6, 12-4 CCAA) in Seaside on Thursday night, Feb. 24. Tipoff inside The Kelp Bed is 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 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 428-174 (.711) overall and 316-127 (.713) in CCAA play under 22nd-year head coach and record five-time CCAA Coach of the Year
Greg Kamansky ... Kamansky sent out the starting lineup of seniors
Tavian Henderson,
Phoenix Shackelford and
BJ Standley, alongside true freshmen
Dane Erikstrup and
Jaden Winfield, for the second game in a row and fourth time this year ... The Broncos have used seven starting lineups this season ... Shackelford has played in all 107 games since his arrival at CPP, and is the lone Bronco to start all 19 contests this year ... CPP went 41-12 inside Kellogg Arena during Shackelford's time in the program ... Henderson reached double figures in rebounds for the seventh time this season and 10th time for his college career ... Two other milestones achieved were Henderson eclipsing 300 rebounds (307) as a Bronco, and Standley getting to exactly 350 assists for his full career ...
Chris Gayles Jr. has two double-figure scoring efforts on the year ... The Broncos finish 6-4 at home in 2021-22 ... CPP leads the all-time series, 40-18 ... The Broncos had won six straight meetings by an average margin of 16.5 points between a 63-56 loss in a CCAA Tournament first-round matchup in Rohnert Park on Feb. 28, 2017, and the Jan. 13 defeat ... CPP has taken 16 of the last 19 meetings ... The Broncos are 21-6 against SSU at home, with nine straight wins there since a 60-53 loss on Feb. 16, 2012 ... CPP is 32-11 against the Seawolves under Kamansky (18-3 at home) ...
Milestone Watch: Standley has 1,011 career points (581 at Saint Martin's).
