Men’s basketball went into Lumberjack Arena Thursday evening and dominated Humboldt State with an 82-65 win.
Cal Poly was led by junior guard Riley Schaefer, who had an efficient night with 16 points, shooting 83 percent from the field.
The hot shooting started early for the Broncos as they caught fire from beyond the arc with back-to-back threes from Schaefer and Nikhil Peters.
Midway through the first half, Dwight Ramos fed the ball to Jordan Ogundiran, who knocked down the 3-pointer and put the Broncos up by 15.
CPP continued to stay locked in from that point on as they went on an impressive 27-6 run in the first half.
With one minute remaining, Phoenix Shackelford got the steal which led to Justin Young getting fouled going to the basket.
He knocked down 1 of 2 from the line and extended the team’s lead 37-18 at halftime.
“I think we are playing with a lot more confidence than we were earlier this season,” Ogundiran said. “I think it’s all about playing together, taking the right shots and trusting each other. That’s going to build confidence within the team and that’s the key to winning games.”
Trusting each other is exactly what the Broncos did as they continued to move the ball and find one another for open shots.
In fact, the Broncos shot a season-high 65.9 percent from the field (27 of 41), including 10 of 16 from three Thursday night.
“Traditionally we get a lot better during our second half of conference,” head coach Greg Kamansky said.
“We understand what teams are going to do and as a coaching staff we make adjustments. Right now everything is just getting better for us on both sides of the ball, but we’re just focusing on one game at a time.”
The Broncos stayed aggressive going into the second half. Schaefer grabbed the rebound off a missed shot from the Lumberjacks and got the ball in the hands of Ogundiran, who found Peters for another 3-pointer.
The team went 5 of 6 from three in the second half.
The biggest part of Cal Poly’s success this season has been the defense.
Which was no different against Humboldt State.
Defensively, the Broncos held the Lumberjacks to just 39.6 percent shooting from the field and forced 14 turnovers.
“Our defense has always been there. We are tough and I like how we come out and play with confidence. I think we are going to be a tough team to beat,” Kamansky said.
CPP put the finishing touches on the game with a dunk from Finn Eckhardt that sealed an 82-65 victory.
Once again, the scoring was well balanced for Cal Poly as four players scored in double figures.
William Christmas had 13 while Ogundiran and Shackelford each had 11.
“We have to keep staying hungry and not get content,” Ogundiran said. “That’s the main thing because we know once we get content things might start to turn around. As long as we keep listening to coach and staying together we’ll keep winning.”
Cal Poly earned another convincing win against Chico State on Saturday night, 63-44.
Dwight Ramos had a game-high 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, followed by 8 from both Phoenix Shackelford and Justin Young.
With their ninth win in a row, CPP is now sitting with an overall record of 16-5 and has moved up to second place in the CCAA standings.
The Broncos will look to continue their winning streak as they return to Kellogg Arena this Thursday to take on Stanislaus State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
