POMONA¾ Cal Poly Pomona had the
nation’s No. 1 team in some trouble, but unbeaten Cal State San Bernardino
survived a major upset bid.
The Broncos fought back from an early 16-point deficit and held
a one-point lead in the final minute, but fell to the Coyotes, 66-63, Wednesday
night in a CCAA battle in Kellogg Gym. The game was the nightcap of a rare
doubleheader that featured the nation’s top NCAA Division II women’s team (Cal
Poly Pomona) and men’s team (Cal State San Bernardino).
While the Bronco women breezed in the opener, the Coyotes
(16-0, 11-0) had a major struggle on their hands in the nightcap. Glenn
Summerall scored 17 points, including a 12-foot driving jumper with 27 seconds
remaining that put the Coyotes ahead, 64-63. Two free throws by Enver Soobzokov
with six seconds left were the final points of the game and a 3-point attempt
at the buzzer by Cal Poly Pomona’s Marques Montgomery just missed.
Cal Poly Pomona senior guard Lucas LeCour scored a game-high 24
points for the Broncos (11-5, 8-3), while Montgomery had a season-high 16
points.
The Broncos fell behind early, 22-6, in the first 10 minutes,
but closed the half with a 22-8 run to make the game close. A 3-pointer by
Jonathan Williams cut the deficit to 30-28 at halftime.
The game was tight throughout the entire second half and Cal
State San Bernardino never led by more than seven points. Trailing 46-39, the
Broncos went on a 9-0 run and took their first lead of the second half on a
pair of free throws by LeCour.
At that point, the game turned into an exciting duel between
LeCour and Cal State San Bernardino’s Lance Ray, who began trading 3-point
bombs. Ray scored 11 straight points for the Coyotes – nine of them on three
straight 3-pointers – while LeCour hit two free throws and a pair of 3-pointers
to keep the Broncos close.
A jumper by Summerall gave the Coyotes a 62-59 lead with 2:31
to go, but a basket by Montgomery and a pair of free throws by freshman Jeff
Bonds gave the Broncos a 63-62 edge with 45 seconds left.
Those were the final points for the Broncos and their upset bid
fell short.