By Gavin Claiborne, March 11, 2025
Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team concluded its California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season by defeating the Stanislaus State Warriors 72-61 Feb. 27 and capturing a 78-70 win against the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters while on the road March 1.
Starting guard Jaden Winfield began the contest versus the Warriors by showing off his footwork and knocking down a turn-around jumper after a shot fake to give the Broncos their first points of the night.
With continuous scoring efforts from Winfield and starting guards Demarreya Lewis-Cooper and Miles Lewis, the Broncos maintained a short yet steady lead during the first 10 minutes of the half.
The Warriors’ offense didn’t take its foot off the pedal, though. The team took the lead after Warriors’ guard Lloyd French hit a 3-pointer to put them on top 10-11 after nearly 10 minutes of play.
Lewis-Cooper splashed a deep one, and Parm nailed a layup to take a one-point lead, but the Warriors continued to battle.
After eight total lead changes in the first half, Broncos’ guard Sam Hunter knocked down a 3-pointer to break the tie and put the Broncos up by 3 points with about a minute and a half left. Then Lewis-Cooper closed out the first half with a stepback jumper and a right-corner three to secure the Broncos a 7-point lead going into halftime 32-25.
The Broncos took control of the game in the second half.
The Warriors’ comeback efforts were persistent, but the Broncos’ consistent scoring and defense proved to be a counter for all 20 minutes.
After a long-range shot from Lewis-Cooper with about one minute remaining, the Broncos built their largest lead of the game at 15 points, and the team prevailed for a 72-61 win.
Lewis-Cooper, the Broncos’ leading scorer, put up a season-high 26 points and four rebounds to help the Broncos close out their second-to-last match of the season.
Winfield and Lewis also scored in double digits with 13 and 12 points respectively.
The Broncos’ final match of the regular season against the No. 12-ranked Otters began with Lewis-Cooper nailing a difficult fadeaway jumper and Winfield driving inside for a layup to get the team going with a 4-0 lead.
The Broncos were productive down low, where the team recorded 22 points in the paint compared to the Otters’ eight.
Broncos head coach Greg Kamansky said the team made it a point to pound the ball inside.
“We really tried getting the ball in to our bigs this time around, and it turned out to have a huge impact on our offense,” Kamansky said.
The Otters started to pick up a scoring momentum, but the Broncos’ offense was doing much more damage as CPP carried the lead for the entire first half, ending it with a 9-point, 33-24 lead.
The second half of the game stayed in the Broncos’ favor as the team’s inside scoring remained effective.
The Otters began chipping away at the Broncos’ lead, trimming the deficit to as close as 4 points about halfway through the second half. But the Broncos responded with an offensive burst to gain the team’s largest lead of the night at 14 points.
The Broncos ended their regular-season finale in triumph, winning 78-70.
With the season wrapped up, Lewis said he was satisfied with his team ending it in a six-game win streak.
“It felt great, man, honestly,” Lewis said. “I feel like we were a different team throughout the second half of the season, and I wish we just made those adjustments a little earlier. But just being able to get back on track felt good.”
Three of the Broncos’ starters — Winfield, Lewis and center Kevin Simeth — each finished in double-digit scoring.
As part of Simeth’s 10-point performance on a clean 83% shooting, he nearly recorded a double-double as he grabbed nine boards, the most rebounds from any player on either team.
Reserve guard Zach Broadous did some off-the-bench scoring, contributing with 10 points while going 5-7 from the field.
The CCAA announced Lewis-Cooper and Winfield were both selected to the All-CCAA men’s basketball second team, and starting guard Shyheim Parm was listed as an honorable mention.
As the Broncos enter the CCAA Tournament, Kamansky said the Broncos are viewed as underdogs, but said it’s a role he enjoys his team having.
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics