Broncos’ Gordon named CCAA top player

Cal Poly Pomona forward Larry Gordon has been named Wilson California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Mens Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 24-30.

Gordon, a 6-foot-5 junior from Pomona, Calif., recorded his fifth consecutive double-double of the season on Sunday after scoring 21 points and totaling 10 rebounds in a 68-64 victory over Le Moyne College.

Gordon currently ranks third in the CCAA in scoring with 17.9 points a contest and second in rebounding with 8.9 boards a game.

Cal Poly Pomona resumes CCAA play on Friday when it hosts Cal State Dominguez Hills beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The weekly honor on the women’s side went to Sonoma State’s Danae Wellender.

 

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Broncos post win over LeMoyne 68-64

When youre struggling, nothing is easy. So the Cal Poly Pomona mens basketball team was happy with a win no matter what it looked like.

Larry Gordon and Angelo Tsagarakis combined for 41 points to lead the Broncos to a 68-64 nonconference win over LeMoyne (NY) on  Sunday at Kellogg Gymnasium. The victory helped erase the memory of a poor performance in Las Vegas two weeks ago that resulted in two losses by a combined 27 points.
It also proved something to build on as the Broncos (2-5, 1-1) get back to conference play next weekend.

We had a better fighting spirit tonight, said Broncos coach Greg Kamansky, who has been critical of his teams lack of heart this season. We made some free throws down the stretch when it was close and we could have folded the tents. So that was encouraging. We just need to be more consistent.

Gordon, a Montclair High School product, finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth consecutive double-double. Tsagarakis had 20 points, six assists and four steals.

Kevin Neveau and Kyle Krause shared playing time in place of Kaelen Daniels, who was serving a one-game suspension after being ejected from the Broncos second game in Las Vegas. Krause scored 10 points and Neveau had six, although both fouled out.

Players said they were only concerned with what they could contol – their own effort level.

We havent been doing what we needed to do, Gordon said. It wasnt about what the other team was doing. It was about us playing harder and being more aggressive. You may not always be playing your best but if you play hard, things still might go your way.

LeMoyne (6-6), a Division II school out of Syracuse, N.Y., led only once at 2-0.

The Broncos were ahead by 14 points after an 11-0 run made it 30-16 with 2:31 left in the first half. The Dolphins answered that with a 7-0 run and trailed at the half, 30-23.

Cal Polys biggest lead in the second half was 10 at 41-31 but the Broncos couldnt put the game away.
Gordon scored on a putback with 4:47 left that gave the host team a 49-43 lead. The Broncos then tallied 17 of their last 19 points from the free-throw line, missing just four tries in that stretch with Tsagarakis going 6-for-6. It was a significant accomplishment since the Broncos entered the game hitting just 58 percent from the line.

The Broncos were up 64-60 when LeMoynes Laurence Ekperigin, who led the Dolphins witrh 23 points, hit two free throws to close the gap to two with 22 seconds left. But Pomonas Rich Collins hit two at the other end to put the game away.

I wasnt surprised it was a close game because I know where we are right now, Kamansky said. Hopefully we can get something positive out of this and go from here.

The Broncos shot 51.3 percent (20-for-39) while the Dolphins hit just 47.1 (24-for-51) including a woeful 39.1 (9-for-23) in the first half. The Broncos finished with a 30-25 edge in rebounds despite Daniels absence. Each team had 16 turnovers.

The Broncos play host to Dominguez Hills on Friday and Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday. The Dolphins played Cal State L.A. last  Friday and were beaten by the Eagles by 20.

We know that anything can happen once conference play starts again, Gordon said. Were looking at it as a chance to start over because were still only 1-1 in conference.

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Rainville’s bucket lifts Cal State women

SAN BERNARDINO Senior center Vanessa Wilt was the logical choice for the last shot, but she wasnt open. Junior forward Jaclyn Rainville was and Ashlee Ford spotted her just in time.

Rainville got a pass from the sophomore point guard, then hit a jumper right in front of the basket as time expired, boosting Cal State San Bernardino to a 75-74 non-conference win over Ferris State (Mich.) on Saturday at Coussoulis Arena.

It was perhaps the biggest win of the season thus far for the Coyotes (8-1). And it came over a foe that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

This will be a big confidence builder for us, Wilt said. It lets us know we can play with anyone, even teams that made the NCAA Tournament. We can make the tournament too.

Wilt scored 32 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and and blocked three shots to give her a double-double for the ninth consecutive game, but it was Rainville delivering at the last second.

The Bulldogs (7-4) had taken a 74-73 lead on a 3-point play by Teghan Thelen with 26 seconds left.
The Coyotes Shanae Blake missed a 3-pointer on the other end and a scramble for a loose ball ensued.

The alternate possession arrow pointed to Cal State San Bernardino, and coach Kevin Becker called a timeout to set up a play. But when the teams came out of the break, officials said the arrow was incorrect and gave the ball to the Bulldogs.

That meant the Coyotes had to foul, with Ford getting a hand on Katie Loosvelt with nine seconds left. She missed the free throw and Rainville grabbed the loose ball. Rainville unleashed the pass to Ford who drove down court, then went to the baseline.

I was open and she (Ford) made a great pass, Rainville said. Im sure everyone thought we were going to Vanessa, but I had a good, open shot.

It ended a competitive game that featured nine ties, the last one at 71-71 with 2:37 left. Other than 3-0 to start the game, Cal States biggest lead was two points at 25-23. Ferris State led by as many as seven in the opening half at 16-9 and by eight in the second half at 47-39 at the 16:08 mark.

Ferris State shot 50 percent (30-for-60) for the game and a sizzling 58 percent (17-for-29) in the opening half. It had balance with 11 players figuring in the scoring and led by senior Rachel Folcik, who had 23. She also grabbed seven rebounds.

Only five players factored in for the Coyotes, but four of them accounted for 73 of the teams 75. Sophomore Krystal Urzua had 19, including three 3-pointers, Rainville scored 13 points and Blake scored nine as the Coyotes shot only 37.3 percent (28-for-75).

The Coyotes trailed 67-64 when they turned up the pressure defensively and forced Ferris into turnovers on back-to-back possessions. Blake then hit a 3-pointer to tie it with 4:25 left. It was tight the rest of the way.

We went more to the press. That takes some of the thinking out of it, Becker said. We were able to make some things happen and took advantage of that on the offensive end.

Coach is always telling us we own the last five minutes, Rainville said. Tonight we really did.

The Coyotes return to conference play next weekend in hosting Cal State Los Angeles Friday and Dominguez Hills on Saturday.

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