SAN FRANCISCO - Cal Poly Pomona let a 10-point first-half lead dissipate but did just enough to upend San Francisco State University, 61-53, in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside The Swamp.

With a fifth straight win, CPP improves to 13-8 overall and finishes the CCAA slate at 9-8. The Broncos went 6-1 in February. Thursday night's results had already clinched them the No. 6 seed at the CCAA Tournament up in Arcata in the coming week. CPP will play in the first quarterfinal at 5:30 p.m. this Thursday, March 3, against third-seeded Cal State San Marcos.

San Francisco State concludes its 2021-22 campaign at 11-16 overall and 8-12 in league play. The Gators dropped their last five.

The Broncos got off to a bit of a slow start, as true freshman Dane Erikstrup's three-pointer 37 seconds into the contest served as their only points until the 14:37 mark, after which two Christopher Mitchell baskets around a layup by fellow redshirt freshman Chris Gayles Jr. in succession, tied the game at 9-9.

Down 14-11 heading toward the under-12 timeout, CPP notched the next 10 points, with the middle six of them coming from sophomore big man Tay Aubry-Thomas between field goals by Gayles Jr. and Mitchell.

A pair of three-point plays made a difference for the home side around another 5-0 mini-run by the Broncos, who gradually nabbed a double-digit advantage at 30-20 with 2:54 left in the first half. SF State scored the next five in quick succession thanks to a steal, ahead of the first of two BJ Standley three-pointers. Phoenix Shackelford set up his backcourt mate, and after two Gator free throws, he assisted a third CPP senior, Tavian Henderson, on a dunk to cap the first-half scoring and send the visitors into the locker room with a 35-27 lead.

The Broncos used eight offensive rebounds over the first 20 minutes to produce 11 second-chance points to none by the home team.

The second half began with back-to-back Gator baskets and an 8-3 spurt through the first media timeout. Six more points in a row after two Shackelford free throws pulled San Francisco State even again at 42-42. Zebaniah Jackson's bucket on the ensuing possession actually then gave the hosts their first lead since it was 14-13.

Within a minute, Standley answered with a jumper from inside the pain after a traveling violation, to knot the score a fourth and final time for the afternoon. Another minute after that, Standley's second triple regained a 47-44 edge for CPP ahead of the under-eight timeout at the 7:52 mark. The Broncos would not give the lead back up from there.

That decisive stretch ended up being 9-0 in CPP's favor, with the first seven from Standley and the last basket by Gayles Jr. to make it 51-44. Though SFSU closed back to within four, the margin grew to double digits again inside the final minute and a half, before settling on eight.

Standley and Aubry-Thomas had 12 points apiece to pace the Broncos. Standley also had three assists and two rebounds, while Aubry-Thomas shared the team high of seven boards and had his team's lone blocked shot. Shackelford joined them in double figures with 11 points, to go along with four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Henderson scored four points, grabbed seven boards and dished out a team-high four assists. Gayles Jr. contributed eight points, three steals and two helpers. Mitchell collected six points, three assists and a pair of steals.

Jalen Chandler was the only Gator in double digits with 13 points. Sean Orr had seven points and game highs of eight rebounds and four steals.

CPP hounded SFSU into 24 turnovers, a season high by a Bronco opponent in 2021-22.

Click here to access CCAA Tournament Central. All five games 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 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 430-174 (.712) overall and 318-127 (.715) 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 fourth game in a row and sixth time this year ... The Broncos have used seven starting lineups this season ... Shackelford has played in all 109 games since his arrival at CPP ... Shackelford is the lone Bronco to start all 21 contests this year, scoring in double figures in each one ... Shackelford's three steals give him a team-high 44 on the year, third-most in the CCAA ... Tay Aubry-Thomas achieved double-figure scoring for the third time, and Standley for the eighth (three straight) ... CPP forced 20-plus turnovers three other times this season, but not since Nov. 20 ... The Broncos are 7-4 away from home ... CPP leads 51-15 in a series that dates back to 1955-56 ... The Broncos have won nine straight matchups since a 79-63 road loss on Dec 2, 2016, and 20 of the last 22 ... CPP is 22-8 in San Francisco since 1962-63, and have taken four in a row there since that 2016 defeat ... The Broncos are a dominant 37-8 against SF State under Kamansky (17-5 on the road) ... This season's first meeting between these teams, in Pomona on Jan. 6, was called off due to COVID-19 protocols ... CPP was 10th in Wednesday's edition of the NCAA West Region poll ... The top eight in the final version make up the NCAA West Regional, with the selection show airing live on NCAA.com at 7:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 6.