Box Score: CPP 69, Chico State 61
POMONA – Cal Poly Pomona fired a season-best 57.7 percent from the floor on the strength of a solid second-half effort and freshman
Mitchel Anderson tied his career-high with 14 points off the bench as the Broncos won their sixth straight game with a 69-61 victory over Chico State before a crowd of 350 at Kellogg Gym on Friday night.
The Broncos returned to Kellogg Gym after a three-week road stretch that allowed them to win a school-record five straight games on the road. CPP is 13-5 overall and 11-4 in the CCAA, while Chico State dropped to 11-8, 7-7.
CPP, which lost to Chico State 72-70 in OT on Jan. 3, stopped the Wildcats from being effective from outside. Jon Baird, who scored an opponent season-high seven 3-pointers against CPP, was held in check. He was 4-for-14 from the field and 4-of-10 from long distance and finished with 12 points.
The game’s pivotal moment arrived late in the second half. Trailing 54-44 with 11:01 left, Chico State outscored the Broncos 15-6 over a seven-minute span. The Wildcats pulled within a point twice, but key defensive plays from CPP and turnover miscue played into the Broncos’ hands.
After Chico State’s Terrence Pullum scored on a layup to cut CPP’s lead to 60-59 with 3:58 left, the Broncos extended their lead on Dahir Nasser’s layup with 3:06 left. After a missed layup from Roderick Hawkins, the Broncos made Chico State pay as
Donnelle Booker hit a jumper from outside and CPP pushed its lead to 64-59 with 2:14 left.
Hawkins responded with a layup on Chico’s next possession, but Fells hit a jumper from the right side and CPP led 66-61 with 1:19 remaining.
On the next play, Chico mishandled the inbounds play and the ball trickled out of bounds. The Broncos made their foe pay when
Austin Swift scored a layup and CPP led 68-61 with 52 seconds left.
Swift was the only other Bronco to score in double figures with 10, but coach Greg Kamansky received a balanced effort as nine players scored at least five points.
CPP returns to the court Saturday when it faces Cal State Stanislaus. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.