Box Score
In a matchup of the best offensive team in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, Cal State San Bernardino, against the best defensive team, Cal Poly Pomona, it was the defense who won out.
Cal Poly Pomona (12-5, 10-4 CCAA) used its defense in the second half to take a Coyotes (13-5, 11-3 CCAA) team that shot 50 percent (10-20) in the first half down to 39.1 percent (9-23) in the second half.
The loss drops Cal State San Bernardino into a tie for first place with Humboldt State in the CCAA, and is just the second loss in Coussoulis Arena this season.
Devon Davis and Corey Caston led the way for the Coyotes, combining for 28 points. Davis scored a team-high 15 points while Gaston added 18. Bryan LeDuc was just two points shy of a double-double with eight to go with his 10 rebounds.
The Broncos jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first half, but the Coyotes answered with an 11-4 run, capped by a LeDuc two, to take their first lead at 13-11. Pomona responded with a 9-0 run to take its biggest lead of the half at 20-13 and matched it at 22-15. CSUSB closed the gap to one, at 26-25, with a 10-4 run with 5:15 left to play. The Broncos pushed it out to a 34-28 lead just before half, but a Steven Gaston free throw pulled the Coyotes within five, at 34-29, at intermission.
The Coyotes opened the second half with a 14-2 run, with Gaston scoring eight in that stretch, to take a 43-36 advantage. After Pomona cut it to 43-39, David Jefferson gave Cal State San Bernardino a 45-39 lead with 12:06 left with a pair of free throws. Pomona responded by scoring six straight to tie it at 45.
LeDuc hit a pair of free throws and Lawrence Tyson sank a trey to give the Coyotes a 52-47 lead, but the Broncos answered right back to tie it at 52 with 3:18 left. Caston buried a trey to give CSUSB a 55-52 lead with 3:24 left, but that was the last field goal hit until three seconds left in the game. In that stretch the Broncos used an 11-4 run to close out the game.
The Coyotes close out the three-game home stand with games against Cal State Stanislaus, Friday, and Chico State, Saturday.