March 2009 Archives
By Jeff Thomas
Correspondent
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Oh, for a few more seconds on the clock.
The remarkable run of the Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball team came to a sudden and shocking end Saturday afternoon at the MassMutual Center when senior guard Tyler Evans drained a fadeaway 3-pointer at buzzer in overtime to give the University of Findlay the NCAA Division II national championship.
Cal Poly Pomona fought back from a 14-point second-half deficit, only to go down 56-53 to Oilers, who concluded a perfect season at 36-0 and was ranked No. 1 wire-to-wire.
"We put ourselves in position to win the game, but tonight we didn't do it and they did," Cal Poly Pomona coach Greg Kamansky said. "We feel proud of the fact that we put ourselves in position and could have won it."
The Broncos (25-8), who won 16 of their last 17 to get to this point and had traveled more than 10,000 miles in the NCAA tournament - with another 3,000 or so more to come Sunday - were the feel-good story of the tournament.
That storybook ending almost came to fruition, but a well-guarded Evans picked that point in time to make his only field goal of the afternoon.
"I think it was good defense but he hit a tough shot," Broncos senior guard Walter Thompson said. "You can't ask for any better defense out of Dahir (Nasser). It was good pressure and he had his hand in his face. He made a tough shot."
The game was tied at 53-53 after senior All-American Larry Gordon hit a 15-foot jumper with 12.5 seconds left. There was a held-ball call under Cal Poly's basket with 2.4 seconds left. Findlay's Marcus Parker inbounded the ball from the baseline to Evans, who was already a step behind the 3-point arc.
Evans took a dribble back and to his left before taking the shot that swished through the basket 25 feet away and left Nasser on his knees and holding his head in disbelief.
"We were concerned with the inbounder getting the ball back for a quick three, so they got the ball to (Evans) and he kept backing up and backing up and throws a fadeaway three from God knows how many feet," Kamansky said. "The guy hit a great shot, give him some credit. That's part of the game of basketball. Win some, lose some."
It was the second overtime win of the Elite Eight for Findlay, and just the fourth overtime championship game in Elite Eight history.
"I can't express the feeling that we have winning this game the way it was won with that unbelievable last-second shot, the way we've won the last four of our games," Findlay coach Ron Niekamp said. "It's an incredible feeling and it's also a feeling that someone up there is looking out for you when you win four like that."
The game had the look of a rout for a while, the Oilers taking a 30-20 halftime lead and pushing that lead to as many as 14 with 16:25 left in the game.
"At that time I called timeout and was pretty fired up and said you're not going down like this," Kamansky said. "I just told our guys we've done it all year and this is not the way we were gonna go down, getting beat handily.
"We got a couple of nice plays and hit a couple of nice shots and next thing you know we got our confidence going and we knew we could play with these guys," he added.
Gordon, who scored a game-high 17 points, scored on a reverse layup, followed by a Robert Summers 3-pointer. Tobias Jahn (14 points) scored at the rim and Summers made two foul shots. After Gordon scored on a drive to the basket, Jahn scored from the baseline to complete the 13-0 run and get the Broncos within one, 36-35.
After Bostic scored on a putback, Thompson hit a 3-pointer and the game was tied with 7:05 to play.
Both teams had opportunities to win in the closing minutes but neither could capitalize.
In overtime it was much of the same, the lead changing five times before Evans hit his heroic shot to end an incredible season for the Broncos.
"This will sting for a while but we'll look back in a little bit and say what a great season this was for this team," Kamansky said. "I can't tell you how proud I am of these guys. Digging in game after game after game. We've won a lot of these overtime games.
"This season I'll take and there's probably 300 coaches in Division II who would take this," he added. "There's only one coach that wouldn't and that's the coach of Findlay."
Colson, a Compton native, was the leading scorer for the Broncos this past season with 16.8 points per game. She scored in double figures in each of her 25 games played for the Broncos, who finished 16-14 overall.
"This is a great honor for her and shows how far she has come in a short time,'' Broncos coach Scott Davis said. "She's the key to our success. It says a lot for her work ethic and means a great deal to our program. Reyana is the one that everyone has a game-plan for her. Teams plan around her ability.''
Colson finished second in scoring 16.8 points (overall games), sixth in rebounds, second in assists and tied for first in steals and a league-leading 17.1 points in only CCAA games. She had 9 double-doubles including a conference-best 11 assists in a game played at Humboldt State.
Colson was named to the WBCA State Farm Region 8 first team, Daktronics West Region first team and was a first-team All-CCAA selection. As a freshman, she was the conference's Freshman of the Year and also a second-team selection.
Off the court, she was named to the 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District 8 first team.
By Michelle Gardner
Staff Writer
Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball coach Greg Kamansky arrived at Honolulu International Airport Thursday morning a tired man. Most of his players were up all night too. No the group wasn't up all night celebrating, although they had reason to do so after upsetting heavily favored Brigham Young-Hawaii 59-58 for the West Region championship late Wednesday night.
That win gives the Broncos a (23-7) berth in the Elite Eight which
starts next Wednesday at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Mass. It will be the school's third trip in Kamansky's nine-year tenure.
The thought of playing for a national championship wasn't far from their minds but there was something of more immediate concern - final exams. The players missed them earlier this week, so they'll be taking them today after a long flight on little sleep.
``They're completely exhausted,'' Kamansky said. ``We had guys up all night working on their laptops. Some of the guys were tutoring other guys. It would be nice if they could really enjoy this. ''
It has been a whirlwind week for the Broncos. And it isn't quite
over. Their journey started out at Western Washington University a week ago where the resilient group turned back local rival Cal State San Bernardino (83-81 in overtime) on Friday, then beat Seattle Pacific (80-72) on Satuerday in the West Sub-region in Bellingham, Wash.
The Broncos left Seattle Monday to fly to Hawaii in preparation for Wednesday's game. They arrived back in Southern California late Thursday but will be back on a plane to fly cross country on Sunday.
The rigorous travel schedule makes the run even more impressive.
Kamansky draws a lot of parallels between this run and the one his team made in 2003, its first trip to the Elite Eight. On that
occasion the Broncos won that berth by beating San Bernardino in double overtime.
``I can't say one was better than another,'' he said Thursday morning by phone just before catching the flight. ``That was the first time we made it and it really put us on the map. I would say this one has been a little more improbable because of all we overcame to get to this point.''
The Broncos lost two key players before the season started and were down to as few as seven healthy players for one game. They were just 5-5 through the first round of CCAA play and had to run the table the last 10 games just to tie for the regular season conference title.
Wednesday's foe also was a formidable one. The Seasiders (27-2) came in ranked third nationally and were playing on their home floor, the Cannon Activity Center, in front of a boisterous crowd of 4,200. And they hadn't lost a game in two months.
The Seasiders like to push the tempo and came in averaging 92 points a game yet Cal Poly dictated the pace early and only trailed 28-23 at the half.
The home team led by as many as 15 points, that lead coming at 42-27 on a 3-pointer by West Region Player of the Year Lucas Alves with 13:57 to go.
The Broncos were still down by double digits late at 56-43 with 6:40 to play. But who would have thought the Seasiders would go the rest
of the game without a field goal.
The Broncos ended the game on a 16-2 run, finally taking their first lead of the contest at 57-56 on a pair of free throws by sophomore
forward Tobias Jahn with 51 seconds left. The Seasiders then battled back at their end with Alves nailing two free throws after a foul had
been called on Jahn with 34 seconds to go.
That set the stage for yet another dramatic finish. The Broncos moved the ball up court with superstar Larry Gordon doing much of the work.
He gave the ball up but got it back after two other passes. His first shot from close in was off the mark but he outhustled three Seasiders
for the ball and put the rebound up and in for the decisive points, sending the Cal Poly sideline into celebration with three seconds
left.
Gordon, who tallied 74 points and 38 rebounds in three games, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Jahn, who had 14
against the Seasiders, also was named to the All-Tournament team.
Gordon's 15 rebounds Wednesday gave him 928 for his career, just seven behind career leader Paul Scranton (1963-66).
``We stayed just close enough,'' Kamanasky said. ``With seven minutes left I knew we just needed a little bit of a run to get us close. I
thought it would rejuvenate us and they might tighten up. That's pretty much what happened. Our guys never quit.''
The weary Broncos won't practice today but will do so on Saturday at Kellogg Gymnasium.
They will be the only team in the Elite Eight not nationally ranked. Their quarterfinal game will be against Central Region champion
Southwest Minnesota State (28-6), ranked No. 12 in the last NABC poll. Other matchups will pit No. 1 Findlay (Ohio) against No. 2 C.W.
Post, No. 5 Gannon (Penn.) against No. 6 Central Missouri and No. 4 Augusta State (Ga.) against No. 15 Christian Brothers (Tenn.).
Devin Montgomery has heard all the lines before. He's so old he'll be collecting social security before his eligibility runs out. He is so old he looks more like a coach than a player.
It is rare a day goes by when he doesn't hear it from a teammate or coach at least once.
The Cal State San Bernardino senior point guard may not be up in years when it comes to everyday life. But at 28, he is indeed an elder statesman on the hardwood. The series of events that derailed his playing career for more than six years make him even more appreciative of the chance he has to finish it off in style.
Montgomery helped the Coyotes to their eighth CCAA regular season title in 10 years, as well as a conference tournament championship.
Next up is the Division II West Sub-regional which starts today at
Western Washington University. The Coyotes (20-9) will square off against local rival Cal Poly Pomona at 5 tonight .
``They tease me about it all the time.'' Montgomery said about the age gap between him and his teammates. ``I do have to do a better job of taking care of my body and getting ready to play. I feel it the most when I try and dunk.''
Cal State is Montgomery's fourth and final stop on the collegiate
circuit which started with one-year stints at Duquesne, then Moorpark Community College.
He spent his junior season at Pepperdine in 2001-02, the highlight being an NCAA Tournament appearance against
Wake Forest in which he scored 18 points in an 83-74 loss at Arco Arena in Sacramento.
Despite that loss he looked forward to his senior season because the team had most of its starters back and the experience of being in the playoffs would be something to build upon. That never happened.
Two days before school started , Montgomery's maternal grandmother Ernestine Morgan, who helped raise him, collapsed and died at the family home.
He was hoping the sport would provide a refuge to help him escape the grief he was still feeling three months later. Then that was taken from him too - four games into the season. He was driving the lane and going up for a shot when an opponent from Cal State Fullerton went up to defend, only to come down hard on his hand.
Montgomery came out of the game for a few minutes to ice his hand but finished the game. When the adrenalin had worn off he knew something wasn't right.
``I never felt pain like that before,'' he said. ``To this day I
still hate Cal State Fullerton because of that."
An X-ray taken the next day revealed that the ligament had torn away from the bone. Rehabilitation didn't work and he ended up having surgery in December.
Montgomery couldn't travel with the team. He was on several
painkillers. And now he was without basketball. The lack of structure or an outlet for his frustrations showed. He started skipping classes and his grades suffered. He alienated himself from his teammates.
Even his closest friends had trouble getting through to him.
``We tried to stop by and get him out of the house, take him to the movies. Anything to get his mind off things,'' recalled T.K. Reed,his friend since travel ball and a former player at Cal State.
``He was having a hard time dealing with things.''
Then came another curveball. Montgomery became a father as son Devin Jr. was born in March of 2004. The thought of college basketball was the furthest thing from his mind. He took odd jobs just to help make
ends meet. He worked at basketball camps and did some private coaching just to stay in the game.
Montgomery always wanted to go back to finish school and use his last year of eligibility but that plan was put on hold - again and again
and again. His priority was his son whom he had custody of for the first two years. He kept promising mother Sharon Morgan, a
registered nurse at Los Angeles County Medical Center, he would go back but it became a standing joke.
``She went back after 10 years so she told me I had 10 years,'' Montgomery said with a laugh. ``I almost used it all.''
He talked with Reed several times about finally getting back on the court and his longtime friend put him in touch with Oliver.
The Coyote boss remembered seeing him play when he scouted Reed, who played in the same backcourt with Montgomery at Moorpark.
But it wasn't that easy. He had transferred so many times a lot of his college credits didn't apply so he had to take several summer
classes to get back in good enough academic standing to be eligible.
The rest is history. Montgomery earned first-team all-conference honors and heads into the regional ranked fifth in scoring (14.3 ppg)
, shooting .493 percent from the field and .754 from the line.
``I was willing to give the old man a chance,'' Oliver said with a laugh. ``I knew he could play even though it had been awhile, a long
while.''
Montgomery got off to a great start, totaling 76 points in his first three games. After a bit of slump midway through the season he is
delivering again. Oliver said the turning point was a closed-door meeting he had with Montgomery after a 73-71 overtime loss to Cal
Poly - the same team the Coyotes face today.
``He wasn't aggressive enough and wasn't playing at the speed at which I knew he could play. He's never exactly been a jet but I
didn't want him playing in slow motion either. I told him if he wasn't going to do that I would put someone in who would.''
The Coyotes lost the next game but then reeled off seven straight wins, a streak they hope to extend today. Montgomery dished out a
season-high 12 assists in a 79-77 CCAA Tournament quarterfinal win over Sonoma State, one of the helpers being a picture perfect entry pass to Brandon Brown for a game-winning dunk.
``It's nice to see him enjoying the game again,'' Reed said. ``I knew he still had it in him.''
Maybe you always can go back again.
Seattle Pacific Friday night 80-72, then retreated to a Bellingham, Wash. hotel room where several players fired up their laptops to see what was going on in Hawaii. CCAA brethren Cal State Dominguez Hills was playing at Brigham Young Hawaii and the Broncos were awaiting the winner of that game.
Hawaii it will be.
That was just fine for veteran coach Greg Kamansky and his resilient squad.
If the Toros had won the Broncos would have gotten a home game. But players said they preferred to play BYU-Hawaii, not because the exotic location proved more inviting than the confines of Kellogg Gymnasium or because one foe was more beatable than the other.
``We have final exams on Tuesday,'' senior standout Larry Gordon said. ``If we go back we have to take them. If we don't it can wait a few days.''
Kamansky was also taking the news in stride.
``We have a group of guys that really enjoy being together and when you have a group like that being on the road can be an even better bonding experience. It has helped our guys grow even closer together.''
Kamansky acknowledged that his most excited player is senior Jimmy Miyasaka, a walk-on from Honolulu who plays sparingly. His parents were in to see him play here on senior night but his grandparents have never seen him play in person.
The Broncos (22-7) drove the 100 miles from Bellingham to Seattle on Sunday and will be flying from Seattle to Hawaii this morning in preparation for Wednesday's Division II West Regional title game against the Seasiders (27-1) who are ranked third nationally and riding a 24-game win streak.
BYU may be the top seed in the region but the Broncos are playing well too. Cal Poly has won 13 of its last 14 games, the lone loss in that stretch coming to Cal State Monterey Bay in the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament.
Among those wins was a thrilling 83-81 overtime win against local rival Cal State San Bernardino in Friday's regional quarterfinal at Western Washington University. Gordon has been the driving force in the two regional victories thus far, totaling 56 points, 23 rebounds and seven assists.
In the win over Seattle Pacific it wasn't just Gordon doing the
damage. The Broncos shot 66.7 percent (30-for-45) as a team with Gordon, Tobias Jahn and Walter combining to go 23-for-26 from the field.
BYU-Hawaii , which advanced to the national semifinal last season, is led by 6-foot-9 Brazilian Lucas Alves (19.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg) whom Kamansky thinks has the potential to play in the NBA.
There are some Southern California connections as the team also includes former Citrus College standout Virgil Buensuceso (10.3 ppg, 6.2 apg), a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award which goes annually to the nation's top point guard, as well as former College of the Desert standout Nathan Sims (12.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg).
The winner of Wednesday's game advances to the Elite Eight slated for March 26-29 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced their all-West Region team in NCAA Division II and Brown was voted to the first team and Montgomery to the second team.
Brown, a 6-7 postman who was all-CCAA conference first-team, the CCAA's newcomer of the year and MVP of the CCAA tournament, is now eligible to be considered for the NABC all-America teams that will be announced at the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass later this month.
Earlier last week, Brown was voted by sports information directors in the West Region to the Daktronics all-West Region first team.
Montgomery, a 6-foot guard, was an all-CCAA first-team selection.
Joining Brown on the NABC all-region first team were Larry Gordon of Cal Poly Pomona, Lucas Alves of BYU-Hawaii, Michael Hernandez of Cal State Dominguez Hills, Ira Graham of Western Washington and Jake Linton of Saint Martin's.
Along with Montgomery, the other second-teamers on the NABC all-star teams were Jerrell Smith of CSU Dominguez Hills, Zac Tiedeman of Humboldt State, Matt Penoncello of Central Washington, Kenny Barker of Alaska Anchorage and Jay DeMaestri of Hawaii Hilo.
Greg Kamansky of Cal Poly Pomona was voted coach of the year by the NABC.
Brown led the CCAA in scoring at 21.5 points per game, was No. 3 in rebounding at 8.7 rebounds per game, No.4 in field goal percentage (56.0), No. 1 in blocked shots (39 - 1.7/game) and No. 1 in offensive rebounds per game (2.8). He was the team leader in all those categories.
Humboldt State, which has won 10 straight games, will play for the title at 5:30 p.m. tonight against Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Coyotes (11-17) , seeded eighth in the field, stunned No. 1 UC San Diego in Tuesday's quarterfinal and played a near flawless first half but couldn't stick with the more well-rounded Lumberjacks (23-6) in the late going.
``We played well but the longer it went the more our weaknesses were exposed,'' Coyotes coach Kevin Becker said. ``They came up with some big shots late and were getting the rebounds. Rebounding and post play have been our problems for us all season.''
The Coyotes led by as many as 14 points in the first half, that
edge coming when Jaclyn Rainville hit a 15-foot jumper to put Cal State up 32-18 with 5:45 left. The Lumberjacks finished the half with a 11-0 run and only trailed 32-27 at the half.
Cal State also hung in early in the second. Humboldt State pulled even at 38-all on a bucket off the inbounds pass by Andrea Bobic. It was later even at 42.
But the visitors then put together a 12-1 that put them ahead for
good. Five of those points came from Katie Franci. The run also
included a 3-pointer by Jennifer Enos. The Lumberjacks built a
double-digit lead for the first time at 54-43 on a bucket underneath by Taylor.
The Coyotes last ditch effort came when Shannon Gholar scored on a layup after a steal at the Humboldt end that made it 56-50 with 2:03 to play. But the Lumberjacks pulled away at the free-throw line, making seven of eight tries the rest of the way with reserve Luiza Osborne hitting all six of hers.
Cal State shot 32.4 percent (23-for-71) for the game but had only one player in double figures, that being Morgan Pryor who tallied 20 points. Krystal Urza and Rainville chipped in with nine each. Rainville also snagged a team-high eight rebounds while Ashlee Ford had six assists.
Humboldt, ranked fourth in the West Region, shot 41.5 percent
(22-for-53) from the field and 69.2 percent (18-for-26) from the
line. It also benefited from a 49-40 edge on the boards.
It had four players finish in double figures led by Brittany Taylor
with 15. Franci contributed 13 points and 16 rebounds.
``They can score from all five positions. That's different than any
other team in the conference,'' Becker added. ``And they have
multiple threats in most places.''
Becker was pleased with how his team finished after losing nine
straight games midway through conference play.
``The coaching staff was very positive with us,'' Pryor said. ``They didn't give up on us and didn't let us give up on ourselves. We had our ups and downs. It would have been a better season if the ups had lasted a little longer.''
C S DOMINGUEZ HILLS 74
CHICO STATE 61
Sophomore Neka Mixon scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists to lead the Toros (20-9) past the Wildcats (16-13) in the other semifinal. Third-seeded Dominguez also got 10 points and five assists from Etiwanda graduate Aujanee Baldwin.
Chico State's Melissa Richardson led all scorers with 18 points.
The Cal State San Bernardino men's basketball team escaped - again.
The Coyotes slipped past longtime nemesis UC San Diego 76-72 in a CCAA Tournament semifinal Friday night to earn a spot in tonight's 7:30 p.m. title game against unheralded Cal State Monterey Bay (16-13).
The Coyotes (19-9) nipped Sonoma State 79-77 in Tuesday's
quarterfinal and coach Jeff Oliver is pleased to see his team start knocking down some shots at crunch time, something it had trouble with earlier in the season.
``We're making the most of our opportunities and taking advantage of some mismatches," Oliver said. ``I think it's a matter of our guys better understanding their roles and feeling more comfortable in the offense. It's good to see.''
The Coyotes led by as many as 11 in the second half, that lead coming at 62-51 with 8:45 left. But the Tritons (17-11) came back as they always do. San Diego evened the game at 67 on a baseline drive by Shane Poppen, who surged past defender Brandon Brown, playing it safe after being called for his fourth foul.
The game was tied again at 70 with 1:40 to play. The Coyotes got a fadeaway jumper from Tim Denson to go up 72-70 with 1:13 left. The Tritons failed to answer as Kelvin Kim missed an open look from the top of the key, his favorite shot.
Cal State's Devin Montgomery scrambled for the rebound with 45 seconds left and sank a pair of free throw to up the lead to four, 74-70.
Montgomery was at the line twice more and delivered two with 18.2 seconds left and one of two later to seal the outcome.
``I was just trying to relax and make them,'' Montgomery said. ``I
was in that position before and didn't come through. I wasn't really thinking about it, but I was thinking about it. I didn't want to fail in that position again.''
The Coyotes, ranked seventh in the West Region, shot 57.4 percent (27-for-47) from the field with Brown's 22 leading the way. Montgomery and Denson contributed 15 and 13 respectively. DuBois Williams had a steady game with eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
San Diego came in needing to win the tournament to advance to the West Region Tournament, something it did last year. The Tritons got 24 from Jordan Lawley and 16 each from Alan Husted Poppen.
The Coyotes entered the tournament seeded third despite claiming a share of the regular season title for the eighth time in 10 years. Monterey Bay was the seventh seed but it upended No. 2 Cal State Dominguez Hills on Tuesday, then followed with an ugly-but-effective win over the top-seeded Broncos.
Cal State swept both regular season meetings against the Otters.
``That's going to be another tough one,'' Oliver said. ``They play
hard and don't quit and they have the momentum right now.''
The Otters (16-13), the eighth seed, were playing for their lives
with the tournament bid the only chance they had of making the West Region Tournament. The Broncos (20-7), who came in riding an 11-game winning streak, have already secured a spot in that event but were playing for the right to possibly host a sub-regional.
``Their season was on the line and they were playing like it,''
Broncos senior Larry Gordon said. ``We knew they were going to come in and play hard and we really didn't step up and answer. ''
The game was not a particularly well-played one on either side. The Otters shot just 33.9 percent (19-for-56) including a woeful 16.7 percent (3for-16) from long distance. Meanwhile the Broncos shot a slightly worse 33.3 (15-for-45) with 18 turnovers.
How bad was it? Well the Broncos went the first 11 minutes of the second half without a field goal, a driving layup by Dahir Nasser breaking that drought. But it wasn't like the Otters played well enough to capitalize as they only led 29-28 despite after that play.
``We were fortunate to be as close as we were,'' Broncos coach Greg Kamansky said. ``It was more about bad offense but they did play good defense and just got after us and we didn't respond.''
The second half was tight all the way with neither team managing more than a four-point lead. It was tied at 38 with 2:08 to go but Gordon knocked down two free throws to give the Broncos back the lead, 40-38.
The Otters had three shots on their next possession before the
Broncos Dwayne Fells came up with the defensive rebound. They failed to convert as Gordon misfired and the Otters Steve Monreal grabbed the rebound with 50 seconds left.
The upstarts converted as Monreal drove the baseline and sunk a shot to even it again at 40-all. It stayed that way as Nasser missed a 3-pointer to leave the game tied after regulation.
The Otters led the extra period all the way with two free throws
by Monreal, making it 50-46 with 19 seconds to go. The Broncos
Walter Thompson buried a 3-pointer at the other end with 13 seconds to go, bringing the Broncos back within one point but that was as close as the Broncos would get.
``We were dysfunctional on offense,'' Kamansky said. ``We seemed a little too tight and then we were hanging our heads. We got what we deserved.''
Gordon led the Broncos with 17 points, highlighted by his 1,400th career field goal which came on a driving base line move with 6:59 left in the game. He also had six rebounds and a career-high seven steals which also stands as a best by any player in the conference this season.
Monreal led the Otters, who will be making their first appearance
in a conference tournament final, with 18 points. Joe Mitchell
snagged 14 rebounds.
It looks like Cal Poly Pomona men's basketball coach Greg Kamansky will be the one getting the last laugh.
He is the first to admit his team hardly looks imposing when it takes the court for pregame warmups. He has been down to eight players for much of the year and those eight don't look like the most athletic bunch.
But the Broncos (19-6, 15-5) finished tied for first in the CCAA with more physically imposing teams from Cal State San Bernardino (17-9, 15-5) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (21-6, 15-5).
Cal Poly got the tiebreaker and will enter this week's CCAA Tournament as the top seed. It will host No. 8 San Francisco State (14-13, 8-12) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Kellogg Gymnasium. Friday's semifinals and Saturday's championship game will be at Coussoulis Arena on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino.
"It's actually pretty funny," Kamansky said. "We're out there with our seven, eight guys and we're clanking shots all over the place. Other coaches are laughing at us. Fans are laughing at us. I know. I've seen it."
Six weeks ago the Broncos were in desperation mode. They were 9-6 overall and 5-5 in conference play. Kamansky was just hoping to get in the conference tournament. He never imagined being the top seed. But the Broncos swept the back half of their schedule, a significant feat in such a depp conference.
They will head into Tuesday's game riding a 10-game win streak.
"It just goes to show what can happen when you have good team chemistry and guys believe in the system and their teammates," Kamansky said.
The Broncos are led by senior Larry Gordon (14 ppg, 10.3 rpg), a mainstay in the lineup for his four years. Austin Swift (10.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Walter Thompson (11.6 ppg) have emerged as good complimentary players.
But Kamansky credits the team's hot streak up to the improved play of his young post players - true freshman Dwyane Fells (5.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and sophomore Tobias Jahn (8.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg).
"They have given us a presence in the paint we didn't have early on" he said. "It adds another dimension to this team."
While the Broncos have pretty much clinched a spot in the West Region tournament no matter how they fare this week, they still have something to play for.
They are currently ranked third in the region and could move up to second since No. 2 Dominguez Hills lost last week.
If they can finish second they would likely host a four-team sub-regional if the NCAA decides to use that format rather than the traditional eight-team regional at one site.
"Who would have thought?" Kamansky sighed.
CAL POLY WOMEN GET CHICO STATE
The men's game will follow the 5:30 p.m. women's game as coach Scott Davis' team also earned a home game.
The No. 4 seeded Broncos (16-13, 12-8) will host No. 5 Chico State (15-12, 11-9). The teams split during the regular season with each winning on its home floor.
On the season the Broncos are 9-3 at Kellogg Gymnasium.
Unlike the Cal Poly men, the women need a big effort in the tournament. They currently sit eighth in the West Region, despite having two wins over No. 6 Dominguez Hills and one over No. 7 Northwest Nazarene.
"I think we need to win it to get in even though we have those wins over teams ahead of us," Davis said.
UC San Diego (26-3, 19-1) is the top seed but Davis is most leery of No. 2 Humboldt State (21-6, 16-4) which has won eight straight games.
"They are playing the best right now and they have a lot of weapons," he said.
For the Cal State San Bernardino men's basketball team the task is simple -- win the CCAA tournament or the season is over.
The Coyotes (17-9, 15-5) painted themselves into a corner with losses to Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego. Now, there is no margin for error.
The Coyotes open play in the CCAA tournament at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Coussoulis Arena against Sonoma State (12-15, 8-12), with whom they split during the regular season.
The good news for coach Jeff Oliver's team is that Friday's semifinals and Saturday's finals will also be at Coussoulis, where the team is 10-1 this season.
Cal State is ranked 10th in the region and needs to be eighth to secure a spot in the West Region tournament. There are a half a dozen teams in the hunt for the last few spots, a couple of whom are playing in the CCAA event.
The winner of the CCAA tournament gets the conference's automatic playoff bid.
"We need to win at least two and even that leaves room for doubt," Oliver said. "We're going in with the mindset that we have to win three."
The Coyotes were part of a three-way tie for first with Cal Poly Pomona (19-6, 15-5) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (21-6, 15-5), giving them at least a share of the conference title for the eighth time in 10 years. But the seeding for the tournament came down to a third tiebreaker.
The Broncos, who will host San Francisco State (14-13, 8-12) in an opening-round game, were 2-0 against Cal State Los Angeles (the ninth-place team and the best of the teams that didn't make the tournament) compared to Cal State Dominguez Hills' 1-1 mark against the Golden Eagles.
The Coyotes were made the third seed based on their 9-5 record against tournament teams. Both Pomona and Dominguez Hills had 10-4 marks.
That logic mystifies Oliver.
"You're rewarding Dominguez and Pomona for losing to teams that are the bottom of the barrel, that didn't make the tournament. That doesn't make sense," he said.
While Sonoma State has played the Coyotes tough, it has not had an answer for big man Brandon Brown (20.6 points per game, 8.9 rebounds), who has scored 45 points in the two games against the Seawolves and is coming off a 32-point showing against San Francisco State on Friday.
"He has been dominant," Oliver said. "He has had head on straight and doing a better job of not letting adversity get to him."
Cal State women headed south
The Cal State women will need to repeat their upset of two weeks ago to get another home game as they will play their CCAA tournament opener at RIMAC Arena against top-seeded UC San Diego (26-3, 19-1), which also comes in ranked ninth nationally.
Coach Kevin Becker's team, finishing in a three-way tie for sixth, was last in the pecking order when it came to the tiebreaker, so it was left with the eighth seed.
The Coyotes (10-16, 8-12) were the only conference team to beat the Tritons, doing so 64-59 on Feb. 14, behind the scoring punch of unheralded players Lisa Takata and Ana Onaindia.
"Obviously, they're going to be ready for us," Becker said. "We're going to have to play even better than we did the last time we played them."
