POMONA, Calif. – The Broncos defeated the nationally-ranked Cal State LA Golden Eagles on Saturday afternoon, narrowly hanging on to a 70-67 lead in the final seconds. With the win, CPP improves to 6-11 on the season and 5-8 in CCAA play.
 
The Bronco offense continued to improve on Saturday, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 36 percent beyond the arc. The team has seen a sharp improvement in their offensive performance over the past three weeks, as four of their six best shooting games have come during that stretch. Not surprisingly, the Broncos have also won four of their last six games in that span.
 
Saturday's thriller proved to be a mirror of Thursday's game against Dominguez Hills, where it took a herculean effort to beat the Broncos in overtime. This time, however, the Broncos controlled the lead for most of the game against the No. 25 Golden Eagles. After taking a 5-4 lead in the first two minutes of the game on a layup from Michael Ofoegbu, who finished the day with 14 points, the Broncos maintained control for the next 37 minutes of play.
 
With just 1:35 to go in the game, the Golden Eagles were able to successfully erase a once 18-point deficit on a pair of free throws, giving them a one point advantage with the score at 65-64. Two crucial free throws from Ofoegbu at the 1:03 mark put the advantage back on the Broncos' side at a 66-65 lead. Malachi Murrell, who finished the game with a career-high 16 points, then added on two more with a pair of free throws himself at the 30-second mark.
 
With just 17 seconds left on the clock, Murrell got another opportunity at the charity stripe, the Broncos leading 68-67. Murrell missed both shots, but promptly gathered the offensive rebound and followed that with an explosive dunk – giving the Broncos a much-needed three point advantage.
 
The Broncos found themselves in the exact same position as Thursday night – leading by three points with 10 seconds to go - however this time, they were able to make the big stop and secure the 70-67 win.   
 
Brandon Porter led the team in scoring with 18 points, rounding out the trio that reached double figures. Ofoegbu, Murrell, and Chris Gayles Jr. led in rebounding, while the team as a whole had 13 more rebounds than CSULA.
 
 
Up Next
The Broncos will play on the road next week with a game at Cal State San Marcos on Thursday, followed by a game at Sonoma State on Saturday.
 
 
Bronco Bits

• The Broncos are now 70-55 (.560) all-time against Cal State LA, including 7-3 in their past 10 games since 2018.
• Greg Kamansky is now 448-201 (.690) as head coach of the Broncos.
• The last time the Broncos were 6-11 through their first 17 games was the 1988-89 season.
• The Broncos are now 28-36 (.438) against nationally ranked teams since 2000-01.