SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Cal Poly Pomona was nearly flawless for much of the first half in building a 25-point advantage and still led by 15 at the break, but eighth-ranked host Cal State San Bernardino stormed back to edge out a 72-69 decision in the quarterfinals of the 2022 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball West Regional inside Coussoulis Arena on Friday afternoon.

With the result, No. 7 seed CPP concludes the 2021-22 campaign at 13-10. Second-seeded California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular-season champion CSUSB improves to 24-3.

The Broncos went 6-2 down the stretch to earn a fourth straight West Regional at-large berth and eighth NCAA postseason appearance in the last nine years, not including 2020-21 when the CCAA did not compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then-21st-ranked CSUSB had defeated then-11th-ranked CPP in an early showdown of unbeatens, 83-62, in San Bernardino on Nov. 27. The second game of the regular-season series, scheduled for Jan. 2 in Pomona, was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.

Cal State San Bernardino advances to face another CCAA foe in third-seeded and 15th-ranked Chico State (20-4) in Saturday's first regional semifinal at 5 p.m. at Coussoulis Arena. The Wildcats pulled away late from first-time Pacific West Conference champion and sixth-seeded Academy of Art (20-12) in Friday's first quarterfinal, 78-61.

Eddie Davis made three of four free throws to give the home side an early 3-0 lead before Jaden Winfield got the Broncos on the board with a put-back layup at 18:37. Following a Yotes miss, Phoenix Shackelford found BJ Standley for the transition left-wing three-pointer and CPP's first lead at 5-3.

CPP was already in the bonus with seven fouls within the first five minutes of the contest, before CSUSB was even called for one. A three-point play by Christopher Mitchell gave the Broncos a 12-8 lead. On CPP's next possession, Chris Gayles Jr. gave a nifty bounce pass underneath for Tavian Henderson to dunk home with two hands. A turnaround jump shot by Gayles Jr. off the Standley inbounds pass, preceded a Tay Aubry-Thomas slam off another great Standley feed with his left hand. Moments later, Gayles Jr. found Winfield for a baseline jumper, and Cal Poly Pomona led 20-10 as the Yotes called timeout.

Standley's tough driving layup and a pair of Caleb Nelson free throws grew the run to 12-0 as the suffocating Bronco defense held the CCAA's top scoring offense to no points over a span of 4:31 before Tariq Woody finally split a pair of free ones at 8:56.

The Broncos continued to play well, and Mitchell passed into the lane for a pretty finger-roll layup by Gayles Jr. as they took a 26-11 advantage into the under-eight media timeout. A backdoor cut by Standley was rewarded by Henderson to make it 30-12.

Finally at the 6:11 mark, Davis rebounded his own miss and laid it back in to break a string of 7:16 without a made field goal for CSUSB. Standley curled around, grabbed a Shackelford pass and got the friendly bounce for his second triple and a 33-15 bulge. A right-wing three from Shackelford then made it 36-15. The fifth-year senior's driving left-handed layup answered two Davis free throws, and Davis' traveling violation took the teams into the under-four timeout with CPP up 38-17.

A four-point play through another right-wing triple by Standley kept it going for CPP at 42-17. CSUSB ended the half on a 12-2 run from there, however, aided by back-to-back inside baskets by Daytone Jennings in between a pair of Davis triples, to close to within 15 at 44-29.

CSUSB shot just 34.8 percent (8-23) from the field while managing only a 52.4 clip (11-21) from the line. CPP conversely connected on 45.7 percent (16-35) from the floor and made all eight of its free throws. All nine Broncos who saw action scored in the first 20 minutes. Only three of 10 Yotes who entered the contest, made a basket before the interval.

Brandon Knapper, the CCAA Newcomer of the Year, hit his first basket of the afternoon to open the second-half scoring, a right-wing triple, and after a Bronco miss, a fast-break, one-handed Davis dunk, also set up by Darius Lubom, suddenly made it a 10-point game at 44-34.

Aubry-Thomas' two free throws served as CPP's first points of the second half, for 46-34, but Lubom, the CCAA Defensive Player of the Year, then registered his first points of the game on a lay-in. The Broncos maintained a 50-38 lead at the half's initial media timeout.

The CSUSB run extended to 8-0 around that stoppage, with three baskets in a row from CPP turnovers forcing Bronco head coach Greg Kamansky into a timeout at the 14:10 mark, up just six at 50-44.

Aubry-Thomas' offensive rebound and dunk finally ended the Yotes' 10-0 stretch going into the under-12 timeout at a precarious 52-46.

Another Bronco turnover led to a Darius Mickens layup and made it a one-possession game at 53-51. A transition left-wing Knapper triple from Mickens' feed after an empty CPP trip gave the hosts their first lead since it was 8-7, 54-53, as the guests called timeout with 9:00 to go.

Consecutive left-wing threes by Shackelford and Nelson around a Jennings layup had the Broncos still narrowly up by three at 59-56 at the under-eight timeout. Nelson, the true freshman, continued to play big as his second three-pointer followed Jennings' two free throws, and after a Jennings turnover, Standley's step-back jumper pushed it back to 64-58.

A 7-0 run, with the first five coming from Davis, regained a one-point edge for the home side, 65-64, at the final media break.

The teams traded turnovers, and after a couple more empty possessions, the Yotes got a fast-break layup by Davis. On their next trip, Jennings expertly found a streaking Davis for a one-hand jam to make it a five-point game. Shackelford and Mickens then traded quick buckets.

Shackelford made one last clutch shot for his illustrious career in the green and gold, a step-back three from the deep right wing in front of the CPP bench, as the Broncos called a timeout with 10.7 ticks left.

Up 72-69 with eight seconds to go and a chance to ice the game, Knapper missed the front end of a one-and-one. Shackelford grabbed the rebound and dribbled into the frontcourt, but his deep three-point attempt from straight on near the logo, agonizingly hit the front rim and came away as time expired.

Standley scored 14 of his 16 points before halftime, hitting three of his nine attempts from deep alongside two assists and two steals. Shackelford finished with 15 points, also drilling three triples, and added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Henderson collected six points, seven boards, four assists, two steals and a block. Aubry-Thomas had nine points and five boards. Nelson contributed eight points.

Davis, a junior forward and first-year transfer from Division I Portland, led all players with a major college high of 33 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor, 3-of-4 from long range and 8-of-13 from the line. The Florida native added game bests of eight rebounds and four assists, along with one steal and a block. Davis previously had even just one 20-point effort this season, with 21 ironically coming in the first matchup with CPP, and a pair of 20-point outputs (high of 22) in his lone year at Portland in 2020-21. Jennings wound up with 14 points, seven boards, four assists, one steal and a block. Knapper, the CCAA's leading scorer at 20.8 points per game, was held to nine points, which gave him exactly 500 for his first season in the program.

CPP made its first 11 free throws before its lone miss, while CSUSB finished shooting just 48.4 percent (15-31) from the stripe. The Broncos lost despite holding the Yotes at 15 points under their scoring average of 86.9 points per game, which ranks 12th nationally in Division II. The hosts shot a sizzling 60 percent (18-30) from the floor in the second half.

The result marked the end of the outstanding college careers of seniors Shackelford, Standley and Henderson. Shackelford never missed a game since stepping foot on the CPP campus prior to the 2017-18 season, appearing in 111 contests in all and becoming the 17th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. He finishes his Bronco days with 1,183 points, 338 rebounds and 229 assists. Standley joined his backcourt mate as a 1,000-point scorer, ending his college career with 1,066 points, 363 assists and 140 made three-pointers. Henderson and Standley played high school basketball together in Vallejo and also transferred to CPP as a tandem from Saint Martin's University following the 2018-19 campaign. Henderson missed only one game in his entire career, that coming earlier this year, and ends with 805 points, 582 rebounds and 199 assists over 117 games played.

Click HERE to watch CPP's postgame press conference with Kamansky, and HERE to access Tournament Central.

Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is 430-176 (.711) under 22nd-year head coach and record five-time CCAA Coach of the Year Greg Kamansky ... CPP is 24-15 (.632) over 17 NCAA Division II postseason appearances, including 20-12 in 14 trips with Kamansky in charge ... In those 17 NCAA trips, all away from home, the Broncos have gone 7-6 in regional quarterfinals, 3-5 in true road contests, 1-3 in San Bernardino, 2-1 against CSUSB, and 0-1 as the No. 7 seed ... Kamansky went back to the starting lineup of seniors Tavian Henderson, Phoenix Shackelford and BJ Standley, alongside sophomore Tay Aubry-Thomas and true freshman Jaden Winfield, for the fourth time this year and first time since Feb. 5 at Stanislaus State ... The Broncos used seven starting lineups this season ... CCAA Freshman of the Year Dane Erikstrup missed his fourth game ... Shackelford played in all 111 games since his arrival at CPP ... Shackelford is the lone Bronco to start all 23 contests this year, scoring in double figures in each one ... Standley achieved double-figure scoring for fifth straight game and 10th time in his final campaign ... Henderson's first two points, coming via two free throws at the 14:54 mark of the first half, pushed him past 800 points for his college days ... Winfield matched his season high of three steals ... The Broncos finished 7-6 away from home in 2021-22, and 7-5 in true road dates, including 0-2 at Coussoulis Arena ... CPP is 36-29 in the all-time series that dates back to 1989-90, including 13-19 in San Bernardino ... The Broncos are 23-22 against the Yotes under Kamansky (8-14 at CSUSB) ... CPP was swept in the 2019-20 season series, with both defeats in overtime by three total points, and has lost four straight and six of eight to CSUSB after winning seven matchups in a row ... CPP is now 2-1 against the Yotes in NCAA postseason meetings, all since Kamansky took the helm, with previous wins on March 17, 2003, in the regional final in Laie, Hawaii (91-84 in double overtime), and on March 13, 2009, in the regional quarterfinals in Bellingham, Wash. (83-81 in overtime) ... With Kamansky in charge, CPP is 27-32 against ranked foes (13-22 away from home; 7-14 on the road; 2-5 this season), and 10-17 against top-10 opponents (7-11 away from home, 4-6 on the road; 1-3 this season) ... CSUSB is 12-1 at home and a perfect 11-0 inside Coussoulis Arena this season.

2022 NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - WEST REGIONAL
HOSTED BY CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO - SAN BERNARDINO, CA

SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, MARCH 11  - WEST REGION QUARTERFINALS
Game 1 - #3 Chico State 78, #6 Academy of Art 61
Game 2 - #2 Cal State San Bernardino 72, #7 Cal Poly Pomona 69
Game 3 - #8 Alaska Fairbanks 70, #1 Cal State San Marcos 63
Game 4 - #5 Azusa Pacific 66, #4 Point Loma 64

SATURDAY, MARCH 12 - WEST REGION SEMIFINALS
Game 5 - #3 Chico State 91, #2 Cal State San Bernardino 82
Game 6 - #8 Alaska Fairbanks 72, #5 Azusa Pacific 71 (OT)

MONDAY, MARCH 14 - WEST REGION FINAL
Game 7 - #3 Chico State 70, #8 Alaska Fairbanks 52