The Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team will play for a national championship for the second straight year.

The Broncos advanced to Saturday’s nationally televised title tilt with a 71-63 win over Bentley (Mass.) in an NCAA Division II semifinal on Thursday at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.

It was just a year ago that the eluisive national championship slipped away when the underdog Broncos lost to undefeated Findlay (Ohio) 56-53 on a 3-pointer in overtime by a guy that didn’t score any other points in the game.

The Broncos will play Indiana (Penn.) which defeated St. Cloud State (Minn.) 76-70 in the other semifinal.

The Broncos played with poise down the stretch like they have done all season. It was Bentley that got the yipps, missing free throws and no fewer than five point blank layups in the last few minutes.

Austin Swift led the way with 22 points and seven rebounds. Dahir Nasser and Tobias Jahn had 11 while Mitchel Anderson chipped in with 10. Donnelle Booker snagged a team-high eight rebounds.

The Broncos finished with a 34-26 advantage on the boards. They outscored the Falcons in the paint 30-14 and had a 23-10 in points off the bench.

It was a workman-like effort.

One more to go and redemption will be theirs.

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