Cal Poly men chalk up another in CCAA semifinal

It has been a topsy-turvy season in the CCAA.

So it’s appropriate that the team seeded eighth is on the brink of a tournament championship and an automatic  berth in the West Regional despite a record under .500.

On Friday, the Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team continued its run with a 66-61 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills in the CCAA semifinals at Coussoulis Arena. The Broncos will square off with UC San Diego (17-11) in tonight’s 7:30 title tilt.

“One more to go,” Cal Poly coach Greg Kamansky said. “A miracle might still happen. We played very well early and I think we got a little tired but we dug in and sucked it up just enough to get the job done.”

The Tritons are in the same position as the Broncos, needing a win to advance since their current regional ranking isn’t good enough.

UC San Diego beat Cal Poly Pomona (13-14) both times the teams played this season — 55-52 and 78-76.

“They have the best shooting team in the conference,” Kamansky said of the Tritons. “They’re tough. They’re smart. It will be another tough one but at least we have a shot. We have nothing to lose.”

Cal Poly had lost both games to the Toros<WC>,<WC1> too, although each was by three points. But the Broncos were the better team this time from the opening tip.

They led the entire first half, the biggest advantage being 11 at 32-21 on a free throw by Kaelen Daniels with 4:07 left. The Toros cut into that a bit but still trailed 33-26 at the half.

Dominguez (17-11) went ahead 61-59 on a pullup jumper by Nonso Nibo with 1:40 left. It was the Toros' first lead since 2-0.

But the Broncos answered with Kaelen Daniels scoring and sinking a free throw to make it 62-61 with 1:35 to play. The Toros came up empty on their last possession as an alley-oop pass went awry and was corraled by the Broncos' Larry Gordon who was fouled. He made both with 23 seconds to go for a 64-61 lead.

The Toros weren’t done yet. Jonathan Toliver hoisted a 3-pointer from four feet beyond the line at the top of the key. It was off the mark but Jerrell Smith grabbed the rebound. The Ontario native then threw the ball away with three seconds left, sealing the Toros fate.

Gordon led the Broncos with 23  points, highlighted by the 1,000th point of his career, which came on a bucket that gave the Broncos a 56-54 lead.

Daniels and Angelo Tsagarakis added 15 each, with Daniels having the best game of the season.