CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Monday, Jan. 5, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

Schedule of upcoming events:


MEN’S BASKETBALL:

at UC San Diego on Friday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m.

at Grand Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 8 p.m.

                                                                                                                                   

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL:

at UC San Diego on Friday, Jan. 9 at 5:30 p.m.

at Grand Canyon on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 6 p.m.

                                                                       

 

FOLLOW THE BRONCOS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB

HTTP://WWW.CSUPOMONA.EDU/~ATHLETIC

 

 

 

MEN’S BASKETBALL: BRONCOS RECORD MUCH-NEEDED SWEEP

2003-04 Record: 6-3. 2003-04 CCAA Record: 2-2

2003-04 Preseason National Ranking: 5

 

DEFENDING WEST REGION CHAMPS RUN WIN STREAK TO THREE: Cal Poly Pomona’s men’s basketball team picked up a pair of important California Collegiate Athletic Association victories in Kellogg Gym last weekend over two quality opponents. The Broncos opened the week with an 89-75 victory over Chico State on Friday. Jeff Bonds (Jr., Compton, Mayfair HS) led a balanced Bronco attack with 19 points. All 11 Broncos who played scored points in the contest and Bonds was one of four Cal Poly Pomona players to reach double figures. David Sybesma (Jr., Corona, Corona Centennial HS) had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, Jonathan Boyd (So., Fontana, Etiwanda HS) had 13 points and five rebounds and Hervey Malone II (So., Pittsburg, Pittsburg HS) had 10 points and six rebounds. The Broncos led for nearly the entire game and enjoyed a hefty 41-25 advantage in rebounds. Cal Poly Pomona led 38-29 at halftime and had leads as large as 19 points in the second half. Chico State never got closer than nine points after halftime. The Broncos got good production from several other players. Michael Ridgway (Sr., Houston, TX, Lamar University) had seven points, three rebounds and two assists, while Melvyn Nicholson (So., Long Beach, Millikan HS) had seven points and four rebounds. Dion Cook (Fr., Canoga Park, Chaminade HS) had six points and two rebounds and hit a pair of 3-pointers. Jonathan Williams (Sr., Pasadena, John Muir HS) had six points and five assists for the Broncos as well. Williams was the hero on Saturday when he hit an off-balance lay-up while getting  fouled with four seconds remaining to lead the Broncos to a 69-67 overtime win over UC Davis. Williams missed the free throw, but UC Davis was unable to get off a final shot. The Broncos started slowly in the contest and trailed by as many as 12 points, 22-10, midway through the first half. Cal Poly Pomona still trailed by nine points at halftime, 33-24. The Broncos, though, turned it up a notch in the second half and went on a 15-3 run that turned a 41-34 deficit into a 49-44 advantage. The Broncos still led by five points, 56-51, with 2:02 to go and were up, 59-55, with 18 seconds remaining. UC Davis, though, hit a 3-pointer and, after Sybesma hit one of two free throws, the Aggies hit a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. The extra session was close throughout and neither team was able to build a lead larger than two points. Williams broke a 67-67 tie with his driving layup and, after he missed a free throw, UC Davis advanced the ball past halfcourt and called timeout with one second left. A long pass was then knocked away by Sybesma as time ran out. Bonds had 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the Broncos, while Sybesma had 12 points and seven rebounds. Guy Beahm (Sr., Willow Glen, West Valley JC) added 12 points, Williams had nine points and two assists and Boyd had eight points and three assists.

 

BRONCOS WILL HIT THE ROAD FOR NEXT FOUR GAMES: Cal Poly Pomona’s men’s basketball team, the 2003 West Region champs, will face a challenging schedule over the next two weeks with its next four games coming on the road. The Broncos will be at UC San Diego on Friday night to begin the four-game stretch and then meet Grand Canyon on Saturday night. The Broncos will also be at Sonoma State on Jan. 16 and San Francisco State on Jan. 17 before returning to Kellogg Gym for games against Cal State L.A. on Jan. 23 and Cal State Dominguez Hills on Jan. 24.

 

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: BRONCOS OVERWHELM AGGIES FOR A WEEKEND SPLIT

2003-04 Record: 7-2. 2003-04 CCAA Record: 3-1.

 

BRONCOS GO 1-1 IN A PAIR OF OFFENSIVE SHOOTOUTS: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s basketball team, which has won two national championships in the past three seasons, split a pair of games over the weekend against two of the top teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Broncos rolled up a season-high 109 points while beating UC Davis, 109-92, on Saturday to earn the split. Cal Poly Pomona had a 44-22 rebounding edge, including a whopping 26-9 edge in offensive rebounds. The Broncos held a 57-53 halftime lead even though UC Davis shot an astounding 80.8 percent in the opening half and made 21 of 26 field-goal attempts. Cal Poly Pomona held UC Davis to 34.5 percent shooting in the second half and broke the game open. The Broncos led by as many as 25 points before settling for the 17-point win. Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario, University of Arizona) led the Broncos with a season-high 40 points. She also had four rebounds, three assists and four steals. Brandi Fletcher (So., Pomona, Diamond Ranch HS) also had a big game and recorded her first double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The 24 points were just one shy of Fletcher’s career high and the 10 rebounds equaled her career best. Five Broncos in all reached double figures. Keila Beachem (Sr., Chicago, Ill., University of Kansas) had 14 points and seven rebounds, Shanika Perkins (So., Oakland, Oakland HS) had 13 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals and Marisa Lattin (Sr., Oceanside, El Camino HS) had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. Tami Swanson-Cades (Sr., Nevada City, Sierra College) had three points, seven rebounds and six assists. The 109 points scored by the Broncos were their most since a 113-90 win over Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 15, 2000. Things didn’t go as well on Friday when Chico State won in Kellogg Gym for the second straight season, 107-98. It was a game of big runs that was decided when the Wildcats broke an 86-86 tie with an 11-2 spurt late in the contest. Chico State led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but the Broncos used a 24-8 run to erase the deficit and then built up a 51-42 advantage with 2:56 left in the half. Chico State responded with a 12-0 run to close the half and took a 54-51 halftime lead. Chico State opened up an eight-point lead early in the second half, only to see the Broncos rally and take an 80-77 lead with 9:55 to go. The Broncos held their last lead, 86-84, before Chico State went on its game-deciding run. Lattin had a sensational game for the Broncos, pouring in a season-high 36 points that were just two off her career best. She hit five 3-pointers and also had five rebounds and two assists. Allen had 27 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 24 minutes. Chico State hit 29 of 38 free-throw attempts to just 14 of 22 by the Broncos. The rebounds were even, 47-47.

 

BRONCOS EMBARK ON KEY FOUR-GAME ROAD SWING: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s basketball team will play its next four games on the road in what will be a big stretch for the Broncos. Cal Poly Pomona is currently in a five-way tie for first place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and will face two of the other leaders this weekend. The Broncos will be at UC San Diego on Friday and at Grand Canyon on Saturday. The following week, the Broncos will be at Sonoma State, which is another of the leaders, on Friday and San Francisco State on Saturday. Cal Poly Pomona will next play in Kellogg Gym on Friday, Jan. 23, against Cal State L.A.

 

MORE NEWS

 

GOURMET BRONCO CHOCOLATE STILL ON SALE: The Cal Poly Pomona Athletic Department is now selling chocolate-covered almonds, toffee-covered peanuts, chocolate-covered raisins and Neapolitan malt balls for $3 per container. Gourmet Bronco Chocolate is high-end chocolate made with the freshest ingredients. Every dollar spent on the products will go toward supporting Cal Poly Pomona sports programs and its student-athletes. For purchase information, contact (909) 869-5342 or email mtolano@csupomona.edu.

 

ANNUAL FUND-RAISING DRIVE CONTINUES: Cal Poly Pomona Athletics is encouraging its supporters to contribute to its annual fundraising drive, which raises money specifically for scholarships. As students face challenging economic times ahead, the Athletic Department wants to respond by making more scholarships available to them. For more information about participating in the fund-raising efforts, please contact Julie Hall, Director of Development for Athletics/Student Affairs, at (909) 869-2825.