Coyotes slip past Broncos
| By Michelle Gardner Staff Writer SAN BERNARDINO - The most recent showdown between Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino followed the same pattern as so many others. Hard-fought from the opening tip. Low scoring. Too many dramatic shots to count. But it was the Coyotes emerging with a 67-63 win over their neighborhood rival Thursday at Coussoulis Arena. The win puts the Coyotes (6-5, 4-1) in first place for the moment. They started the night tied for first place with four other teams. ``It doesn't matter who's up or who's down and in the last seasons we've both been up,'' Cal State coach Jeff Oliver said. ``It's always going to be a battle and they hit shots and made it tough down the stretch.'' The second half was a battle the entire way. The Broncos led 29-27 at the half but the lead changed hands 10 times in the last 20 minutes. The Broncos (6-4, 2-3) had a 56-50 lead with 5:35 to go only to have the Coyotes storm back via the long ball. Reggie Brown hit the second of his three 3-pointers on the night and was fouled on the shot. He made the free throw to cut the deficit to 56-54. ``We made some mental mistakes as far as our defensive rotation,'' Cal Poly Pomona coach Greg Kamansky said. ``And that four-point play was huge and put them back in the game. There were just too many times where we didn't finish.'' A turnover at the Bronco end gave the host team a chance to seize the lead and capitalize it did. Again it was Brown coming up with the shot, with another bomb putting the Coyotes back up 57-56 with 5:11 to go. It was even at 61 after Cal State's Devin Montgomery drained a 3 with 2:56 to play. Each team missed its next two shots with the opposing team coming up with the rebound. The Coyotes took the lead for good when Brandon Brown muscled his way inside for a bucket that made it 63-61. The Broncos turned the ball over seconds later with Austin Swift taking a tumble in the lane and Brandon Brown coming up with the loose ball. Lawrence Tyson followed with a fadeway jumper a few feet out, making it 65-61 with 17 seconds left that sealed the Broncos fate. ``We were fortunate enough that we finally stuck to the game plan in the last couple of minutes,'' Oliver said. ``The game plan was to get the ball in the paint. And we finally did that after 35 minutes.'' The Broncos shot 49 percent (25-for-51) in the game while the Coyotes managed 44 percent (22-for-50). One of the biggest differences came from long distance as the Coyotes made 12 of 27 tried from long distance. Cal Poly did better than it has in the past but made just five of 17. Walter Thompson led the Broncos with 16. Tobias Jahn added 15 with seven rebounds. Larry Gordon had just eight, snapping a streak of 40 straight games in double figures. Gordon also collected seven rebounds. The Coyotes were led by Montgomery's 15 points, including a 3-for-4 effort from long distance. Both Browns had 13, with Brandon snagging a team-high 10 rebounds. ``It was a great game tonight. Unfortunately we camne out on the losing end,'' Kamansky said. ``But we've come out on the winning side of those too. We played hard tonight and I'm proud of our guys.'' Both teams next get UC San Diego. The Coyotes will host the Tritons Friday at Coussoulis Arena while the Broncos will do so on Saturday. |
About Michelle
Michelle Gardner has been a staff writer for The Sun and the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin since 2002 and has covered the local college sports scene since 2004. She ventured West after working at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale for eight years and is a graduate of the University of Florida.
E-mail Michelle here.
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