POMONA, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team picked up their first win of the 2023-24 campaign on Saturday afternoon, defeating Concordia University Irvine by a score of 73-63. Despite CUI being the fourth-closest Division II university to CPP at just 35 miles away, the two teams had not played each other since the 1996-97 season. The Broncos are now 4-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles, and Saturday's game was their first time facing one another while both schools were members of NCAA Division II – CUI having been a member of NAIA until the 2015-16 season.
 
Furthermore, the two universities have two of the longest-tenured coaches in college basketball, with Greg Kamansky taking the helm at CPP in 2000-01 and Ken Ammann taking over at CUI in 2001-02. Together, the two coaches have 950 wins, a combined .705 win percentage, and three national titles across 45 seasons. Behind Dave Holmquist, who has 1,043 wins over 47 seasons at Biola, Ammann and Kamansky rank second and third in total wins in the DII West Region. Additionally, they rank 15^th and 24^th among active NCAA Division II coaches in career wins, respectively. And despite decades of sustained success just 35 miles apart, the two had never faced each other - until Saturday.
 
The Broncos blitzed the Golden Eagle defense early in the game, scoring on dunks by Michael Ofoegbu, Chris Gayles Jr., Malachi Murrell, and Kevin Simeth, all in the first eight minutes. After just 10 minutes of play, CPP held a convincing 24-10 lead. Jaden Winfield extended that lead to 17, their largest lead of the game, sinking a three with five minutes to go in the first half.
 
Winfield posted a career-high 20 points in the win, while also being tied for the most rebounds on the team with six in the game. The junior shot an impressive 80 percent from the floor while going 2-for-3 beyond the arc. He is tied with Ofoegbu for the most rebounds with 22 this season and is leading the team with the most minutes on the court, averaging 33.5 per game.
 
CUI began to narrow the lead in the second half, bringing it down to just four with eight minutes to go. However, layups by Simeth and Murrell inside the paint helped reestablish a 10-point buffer, where it would remain for the final two minutes of the game.
 
Bam Johnson and Murrell also reached double figures on Saturday. Johnson has scored double-digits in each of CPP's first four games, ranking second on the team in points per game at 13.5. Caleb Nelson led the team from deep, hitting three treys to account for all nine of his points in the game.
 
 
Up Next
The Broncos will start CCAA play later this week with games at Cal Poly Humboldt (2-2) on Thursday, November 30^th, and No. 5 Chico State (4-0) on Saturday, December 2^nd.
 

Bronco Bits

• The Broncos are now 4-0 all-time against CUI.
• Saturday was CPP and CUI's first matchup in 27 years.
• Greg Kamansky is now 443-193 (.697) as head coach of the Broncos.
• Bam Johnson has reached double figures in every game this season.