Broncos down Sonoma State

The endorphin rush from 24 hours earlier might not have worn off.

At least, that was the danger the Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team faced Saturday against middling Sonoma State, having beaten the No. 17 team in the nation a day earlier. Instead, it was the Broncos’ opponent who didn’t show up.

Cal Poly cruised to its second straight win, the seventh in their last eight games, 66-59 over the Seawolves at Kellogg Gym. At 7-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (8-7 overall), Cal Poly stayed one game behind  Cal State San Bernardino.

“I don’t think we overlooked them,” Broncos coach Greg Kamansky said of Sonoma State. “We didn’t take them lightly at all. They’re in the middle of the pack, we’re in second at this point, but we’re only one, two games from going to sixth or seventh.”

Angelo Tsagarakis and Larry Gordon did most of the scoring damage.

Each finished with 16 points, and Gordon added nine rebounds against the Seawolves (8-8 overall, 4-6 CCAA).
Gordon was coming off a 24-point, 13-rebound effort in Friday’s 76-61 undoing of Humboldt State.

A week earlier, the Broncos knocked off Cal State San Bernardino but followed that up with a tough loss to UC San Diego.

“We didn’t want that to happen again,” Kamansky said.

Added Tsagarakis: “We didn’t want the win against Humboldt to go to waste with a loss against Sonoma.”

The Broncos never trailed after the first four minutes and led 31-17 at halftime. Tsagarakis scored Cal Poly’s final eight points of the first half, including two three-pointers. Sonoma State never got within seven points after intermission.

High-energy shooting guard Andrew Kochevar almost single-handedly kept the Seawolves from getting blown out. Sonoma State’s leading scorer finished with 22 points, including three 3-pointers.

Gordon’s consecutive free-throw streak ended at 29 when he missed an attempt with just under three minutes remaining in the game. It was the 15th straight double-figure scoring night for the Montclair High graduate.

Forward Kaelen Daniels added 11 points off the bench, and guard Rich Collins scored 10 and hit 3-of-4 three-point attempts for the Broncos.

The largest ovation was reserved for Cal Poly guard Jimmy Miyasaka, who checked in with 1:13 left and made his first field goal of the season in the game’s final minute.