By Cesar Rivas, Nov. 19, 2024
Cal Poly Pomona men and women’s basketball teams tipped off the season against Azusa Pacific University at the California Collegiate Athletic Association and Pac West Challenge Nov. 8.
No. 19-ranked women’s team faced the No.18-ranked Cougars on the road at the Felix Event Center for the season opener.
APU won the tip off and drained a 3-pointer to start the game. Forward Jeanette Fine responded with a triple of her own for the Broncos’ first points of the campaign.
Two consecutive baskets from forward Sydney Nelson and forward Mydrea Moore put the Broncos ahead early at 7-3.
CPP built on its lead halfway through the first quarter behind a 3-pointer by Fine and a midrange jumper from Nelson.
The Broncos started strong defensively by creating turnovers and forcing APU to take contested shots to keep the Cougars out of the game offensively.
With just two minutes remaining in the first quarter, guard Breanne Ha and forward Hunter Hudson combined for two more jump shots to give the Broncos a 21-11 advantage.
Guard Alexis Woodson was the first one in the box score to start the second quarter with a midrange jumper.
Five minutes later, APU cut the deficit to within two points after going on a 12-2 scoring run that ended with a jump shot from guard Cookie Marques.
The Broncos held onto their four-point lead at 27-23.
The Cougars rallied back with a 3-pointer and layup to gain the lead at 28-27 with just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Guard Kalaya Buggs scored CPP’s last points of the half, as her shot from inside the arc caught nothing but net.
APU earned the last possession of the half and capitalized off a basket of its own and headed into halftime with a one-point lead over CPP 30-29.
The third quarter was all about the Cougars, as they went on a 29-10 scoring run. APU shot 8-12 (66%) from behind the arc to the Broncos’ 0-4 (0%), giving the Cougars a 20-point lead.
The only basket of the quarter from CPP was a layup by Moore, while the rest of the team’s points came from the charity stripe.
The Broncos found success down low with 24 points in the paint to their opponents’ 14.
“We’ve been battling injuries, and it’s shown, and overall, just as a team, we didn’t play the game that we needed to play, and they took advantage of it,” said Head Coach Danelle Bishop.
The opening bucket of the fourth quarter came from a put back by forward Khamiyah Anderson before APU went on another 12-0 scoring run in the span of two minutes.
Both sides traded baskets throughout the fourth quarter, but the game was out of reach for a comeback by the Broncos.
Guard Brielle Minor scored the game’s final four points as the clock expired, and the final score favored the Cougars, 75-50.
CPP finished with a balanced offense that saw six student-athletes score at least five points, led by Fine with a team-high eight points.
“We just have to bounce back; we have less than 24 hours to try to bounce back and play a really good Point Loma team,” Bishop said. “We got to just kind of regroup and, you know, really focus on what we want our identity to be and then actually implement that.”
And bounce back they did with a 71-66 victory over the Point Loma Sea Wolves Nov. 9.
The men’s basketball team traveled to Seattle for its first matchup against the Cougars.
APU won the tip off and got on the board first off of a midrange jumper before guard Demarreya Lewis-Cooper responded with a 3-pointer from the right wing.
The game went back-and-forth with 19 lead changes due to both teams applying pressure on defense.
CPP forced 19 turnovers by the Cougars to its nine and capitalized off the advantage with 22 points scored off the lost possessions.
“That’s key to how we play,” said head coach Greg Kamansky. “We’re definitely a lot smaller than most teams, and we have to be. We got to create turnovers, or it’s going to be tough for us.”
Five minutes into the first half, guard Shyheim Parm nailed a 3-pointer to put the Broncos ahead, followed by a made basket by forward Jaden Winfield to give CPP a 13-9 lead before the first media timeout.
CPP remained in the lead with the help of guard Malcolm Bell and forward Caleb Nelson scoring off two consecutive layups to put the score at 19-14.
The Broncos dominated down low with 26 points in the paint to the Cougars 14 points.
APU rallied with back-to-back 3-pointers with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half to take a one-point lead.
The Cougars’ lead was short lived as guard Zachary Broadous forced a steal and took it himself to the rack for an easy layup.
Shortly after, another Lewis-Cooper jump shot put the Broncos back in front with a score of 23-20.
The match became transitional as both sides traded baskets, and neither side was able to build a major lead until APU found themselves with a three-point advantage with 12 seconds remaining.
As the clock winded down, a 3-pointer from Lewis-Cooper beat the halftime buzzer and put the game even, 33-33.
Straight out of halftime, a fastbreak layup from the Cougars put them in the box score first, before Parm responded with a 3-pointer the next possession.
Guard Sam Hunter tied the game at 50 with his midrange from the elbow, with just under nine minutes left in regulation. Hunter finished with five of the team’s 16 total bench points, which doubled their opponents.
Just as the Broncos thought they created separation from the Cougars, APU countered with a 3-pointer.
“They had some guys that can shoot from really far out, and we weren’t closing out on them very well,” Kamansky said. “We made the adjustment and forced them to take contested threes. So, we definitely made an adjustment, and obviously it really helped us win the game.”
The trading of baskets continued until the Broncos pulled ahead by drawing fouls that put them in the bonus and sent them to the free throw line.
CPP went 12-17 (71%) from the free throw line in the second half, and four student-athletes sealed the game by going 8-8 at the charity stripe in the final minutes: forward Kevin Simeth, Parm, Lewis-Cooper and Nelson.
The clock hit zero to give the Broncos their first win of the season with a final score of 66-58.
Three players scored double-digit figures, Winfield and Parm led the team with 14 respectively, and Lewis-Cooper followed behind with 10 points of his own.
“I thought we played solid,” Kamansky said. “You know, we played hard, and we competed as a team, which was great.”
The Broncos kept the ball rolling into Saturday as they defeated Seattle Pacific by a final score of 70-60 to improve to 2-0 overall.
Photos courtesy of CPP Athletics