Men's Basketball

CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

MEN’S BASKETBALL

MEDIA NOTES

2004-05 CPP Record: 2-3. CCAA Record: 1-1

Broncos Will Resume Action After A Brief Intermission: Cal Poly Pomona’s men’s basketball team, which has been idle after splitting its first two California Collegiate Athletic Association contests of the season earlier this month, will resume action this week with a pair of important NCAA Division II West Region contests. The Broncos will host Seattle University tonight, Tuesday, Dec. 14, in Kellogg Gym at 7:30 p.m. and will then face Grand Canyon in Phoenix on Saturday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. Cal Poly Pomona has not played since beating San Francisco State, 70-62, on Saturday, Dec. 4. The Broncos salvaged a weekend split with the win. Cal Poly Pomona, which has made the NCAA Division II playoffs in consecutive years for the first time in the program’s history, went 21-7 last season and notched its second straight 20-win season for the first time ever. The Broncos were 17-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association last year and set a new program standard for most conference wins in a season. The Broncos had a successful follow-up to their 2002-03 season, which ranks as one of the best in the program’s history. Cal Poly Pomona won the 2003 West Regional and advanced to the national quarterfinals for only the second time in the program’s history and the first since the 1964. The 23 wins tied the program mark for most victories, also set by the 1964 squad. Cal Poly Pomona returns three starters and seven players overall from last year’s squad, including preseason All-American Jeff Bonds (Sr., Compton, Mayfair HS) and All-CCAA and All-West Region selection David Sybesma (Sr., Corona, Corona Centennial HS).

About Last Games: The Broncos opened California Collegiate Athletic Association play on the weekend of Dec. 3-4 with mixed results. Cal Poly Pomona dropped its CCAA opener and lost for the first time in 12 home contests in a 64-61 loss to Sonoma State on Dec. 3. The Broncos struggled from the free-throw line, missing 10 of 23 attempts, including an erratic 5-of-13 performance in the second half. Dion Cook (So., Canoga Park, Chaminade HS) led the Broncos with 14 points, Jeff Bonds (Sr., Compton, Mayfair HS) had 12 points and Hervey Malone II (Jr., Pittsburg, Pittsburg HS) had 11 points and four rebounds. The Broncos led by as many as seven points in the first half, but the Seawolves rallied to tie the game by halftime. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Malone gave the Broncos a 51-46 advantage with 5:53 left, but the Seawolves battled back again. A free throw by David Sybesma (Sr., Corona, Corona Centennial HS) tied the game at 58-58 with 1:45 remaining, but the Seawolves scored the next six points to take a 64-58 edge with 27 seconds left. Cook nailed a 3-pointer to make it 64-61 with 18 seconds to go and the Broncos got the ball back again after a quick steal by Malone with 10 seconds left. After a Bronco timeout, Sybesma had a good look at a 3-pointer, but the shot didn’t fall and the Seawolves prevailed. Cal Poly Pomona bounced back with a 70-62 win over San Francisco State on Dec. 4. Sybesma scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the first half to spark the Broncos. Cal Poly Pomona held a 38-26 lead at halftime and kept the Gators at bay the rest of the way. Bonds scored 12 points and Jonathan Boyd (Jr., Fontana, Etiwanda HS) had 11 points and a team-high five rebounds.

Head to Head: Cal Poly Pomona is 1-0 all-time against Seattle University, although the programs have not met since 1986. The Broncos won the lone meeting, 73-57, in Pomona. Cal Poly Pomona is 14-11 all-time against Grand Canyon and won both games against the Antelopes last season. The Broncos won, 74-55, in Phoenix behind 15 points from David Sybesma (Sr., Corona, Corona Centennial HS). Cal Poly Pomona also won the second meeting, 77-58, in Kellogg Gym behind 16 points and eight rebounds from Jeff Bonds (Sr., Compton, Mayfair HS).

The Kamansky File: Cal Poly Pomona Head Coach Greg Kamansky is beginning his fifth season as the leader of the Broncos. Kamansky has guided the Broncos to an 81-36 overall record. His winning percentage of .692 is the best in the program’s history. He led the Broncos to a 21-7 record last season and into the NCAA Division II playoffs for the second straight season. That was a successful follow-up to the sensational season in 2002-03 when he guided the Broncos to the West Region championship and the program’s first appearance in the national quarterfinals in 39 years. In the 2001-02 season, Kamansky guided the Broncos to an 18-9 overall record and a 15-7 mark in the CCAA, which was good enough for third place in the conference. As the interim coach four years ago, Kamansky guided a team picked to finish ninth in the CCAA to a 17-10 record and the brink of an NCAA playoff berth. The 17-10 record was the best-ever for a first-year coach in the program’s history. Kamansky was an assistant coach at Cal Poly Pomona for two seasons before succeeding Tim Rapp.

The Name Is Bonds; Jeff Bonds: Cal Poly Pomona’s Jeff Bonds is well on his way to becoming one of the best players in the history of the program. Bonds (Sr., Compton, Mayfair HS) became the program’s all-time leading scorer during a 26-point performance against Western Washington on Nov. 27. Bonds surpassed the old mark of 1,302 held by Lucas LeCour and now has 1,341 points in his Cal Poly Pomona career. Bonds led the Broncos in scoring for a second straight year last season with a 17.3 point per game average. He earned first-team All-CCAA honors for the second straight season and also earned first-team NABC All-West Region honors as well. He was at his best once again in the postseason, pouring in a team-high 26 points in the Broncos’ first-round loss to Humboldt State. In 2003, Bonds averaged 19.5 points per game in the Broncos’ four playoff contests. The highlight was a career-high 31-point outburst that helped the Broncos upend Cal State San Bernardino, 91-84, in double overtime in the regional championship game. He also scored 20 points in a semi-final victory over Cal State Bakersfield. He was named the West Regional Most Outstanding Player after averaging 19.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in the three regional contests. Bonds led the team in scoring (14.4 points) and rebounding (5.8 per game) for the season and was named to the All-CCAA first team. He was the only CCAA player to receive honorable mention All-America honors this season by Street & Smith’s, the second year he has been honored by the publication.

Fired Up About Sybesmania: Cal Poly Pomona forward David Sybesma (Sr., Corona, Corona Centennial HS) returns for his fourth season with the program and he, too, will go down as one of the best players in the program’s history. He is currently second on the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game average. He has also climbed to ninth on the all-time scoring list with 969 points in his career. Sybesma earned first-team All-CCAA honors last season after finishing second on the team with a 14.0 points per game average. He was also second on the team in rebounding with 5.6 boards per game. He also continued his knack of hitting big-time shots for the Broncos, sinking a 3-pointer in the final seconds to send a critical home game against Cal State Stanislaus into overtime. In 2003, he made one of the biggest shots in the program’s history. Sybesma hit a 14-foot leaner in the lane to beat the buzzer and send the West Regional championship game against Cal State San Bernardino into overtime. Cal Poly Pomona eventually won the game in double overtime to advance to the Elite Eight. He was the only player to start all of the Broncos’ first 30 games, only to miss the Elite Eight game against Kentucky Wesleyan because of a severely infected toe. Sybesma was second on the team in scoring that year with a 10.7 points per game average and was another player who stepped up his production in the playoffs. He averaged 16.3 points per game and led the Broncos with 7.3 rebounds per game. Sybesma was named to the All-CCAA second team in 2003.

Look Who’s New: The Broncos are welcoming five players to their program this season and four of the five are freshman. The lone upperclassmen is Matt Nelsen, a 6-foot-4 senior guard from New Mexico Highlands. The Broncos are also excited about first-year players Kevin Neveu (Fr., San Leandro, St. Joseph Notre Dame HS), Bill Forelli (Fr., Gig Harbor, WA, Gig Harbor HS), Ryan Chisholm (Fr., Richmond, Marin Catholic HS) and Kyle Kraus (Fr., Wasco, Wasco HS). In addition, Kaelen Daniels (Fr., Compton, Artesia HS), who redshirted last year, is expected to make major contributions this year in his first season on the active roster.

Where We Left Off: Cal Poly Pomona’s men’s basketball team finished the 2003-04 season with a 21-7 record and advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the second straight season. The Broncos, the No. 6 seed, lost a heartbreaking 86-83 decision to eventual regional champion Humboldt State. Jeff Bonds (Sr., Compton, Mayfair HS) had a sensational game, pouring in 26 points and leading four Broncos in double figures. Jonathan Boyd (Jr., Fontana, Etiwanda HS) had a career-high 17 points and knocked down five 3-pointers, while David Sybemsa (Sr., Corona, Corona Centennial HS) and Jonathan Williams had 16 points each. Sybemsa also had a career-high nine assists. Humboldt State hit an amazing 15 of its 20 attempts from behind the 3-point arc. The Broncos set a new program standard by winning 17 California Collegiate Athletic Association games while finishing third in the conference with a 17-5 mark. The Broncos also notched their second straight 20-win season for the first time ever.

PLAYER NOTES

5 JASON BURRELL (G, So., Rancho Cucamonga, St. Mark’s Prep)