By Daniel Tapia, Feb. 15, 2022
On Feb. 10, the Broncos headed out to Cal State Los Angeles in what was a must-win matchup to keep their California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament hopes alive. The Broncos defeated the Golden Eagles with a final score of 78-60.
After losing four out of the last five games, this win improves CPP’s record to 8-7 with only four games remaining.
The Broncos got off to a slow start going down 20 -14 early in the first half. Their defense began to step up minutes after, getting consecutive stops cutting the lead down to two. Head coach Greg Kamansky praised their defense as they held the Golden Eagles to shoot under 34%.
“I thought our interior defense was really good tonight,” he said. “That was a well performance from everyone on the team.”
The Broncos’ offense was looking stagnant at times but coming out of a timeout guard BJ Standley caught fire knocking down four consecutive three-pointers giving the Broncos their biggest lead of the game yet at 30-22.
“I had a couple good looks early on,” said Standley. “After that, my shot started feeling good.”
Standley’s hot shooting was a turning point in the game, giving the Broncos a much-needed energy boost.
“We’ve been having trouble scoring the last couple weeks and that’s the first time we hit that many threes in a while so that really put a spark into us,” said Kamansky.
From there on out, the Broncos never looked back as they went on an impressive 26-5 run. With strong offense and even better defense, the Broncos ended the half with a 40-25 lead.
At the start of the second half, Standley hit two more consecutive threes. This capped off his night with a team high of 18 points, shooting 6-11 from three-point range and dishing out four assists.
“It’s a big win that we needed to get back on track,” said Standley. “Hopefully we can get on a little run here and start piecing things together.”
The Broncos played with intensity throughout the second half and never took their foot off the pedal. Guard Phoenix Shackelford, one of the leaders of the young Bronco team, finished the game as the second leading scorer with 17 points and five assists.
“It wasn’t early on in the game, but we caught a good rhythm and wave of energy and just rode it out,” said Shackelford.
Although Shackelford impressed on the offensive end, his defensive presence accounted for three of the team’s eight steals.
“We were talking a lot more,” said Shackelford. “We were able to get some deflections and steals that led to easy baskets.”
When asked about the leadership of this team, Kamansky was quick to mention Standley and Shackelford. “When those two are playing well together, it really sparks this team,” he said.
With the CCAA tournament fast approaching, the Broncos are left with four games that are looking like must-win matchups to remain in the top six of the conference standings. The Broncos will play home Thursday, Feb. 17 against Cal Poly Humboldt at the Kellogg Arena.
For more information, visit the CPP Athletics website.
Feature photo courtesy of Tyler Lobe.
