By Cael Cross, March 17, 2026
Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team locked down Cal State Monterey Bay in the California Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament quarterfinal March 5, defeating the Otters 74-67.
The Broncos held the conference’s best 3-point shooting team to just six threes and a season-low 19.4% from behind the arc.
CPP keyed in on the Otters’ three best shooters, guards Michael Mora and Jaden Tengan and forward Joey Bilello, holding them to 4-23 combined from downtown.
“(Bilello) hurt us those first two games bad,” head coach Greg Kamansky said, referring to Bilello’s shooting performances against CPP during the regular season, in which he shot more than 70% from three. “We locked in on those guys and did a good job.”
Bilello was shutout completely in the 4-5 seed matchup, while All-CCAA First Team selection Mora, who averaged 32.5 points per game against the Broncos this season, was held to just 13 points on 5-13 shooting.
CPP came out the gates firing with a block from guard Malcolm Bell before forward Jake Goldberg connected on back-to-back jumpers, giving CPP an early 7-2 lead.
The Broncos’ efficient start from the field continued with forward Michael Saba scoring a quick five points off the bench. Saba finished the first half with 10 points on perfect shooting. Guard Zach Broadous then finished an up-and-under layup on the break to cap off a 14-3 run for the Broncos.
The Broncos and Otters traded baskets over the course of the next six minutes. CPP got multiple players involved offensively, while Tengan responded with eight points of his own.
CPP ended the back-and-forth affair with three minutes left in the half after Broadous intercepted a pass and tossed an alley-oop to guard Malcolm Bell, who jammed it home to make it 35-22, lighting up Kellogg Arena.
Despite being the designated away team, the Broncos had plenty of home support as they hosted this year’s tournament, which the players and coaches felt.
“It made a huge difference for us,” Bell said.
Kamansky held the same sentiment, noting that it was great having the home crowd attending.
CPP cooled off to end the half, committing multiple fouls that allowed the Otters to climb back into the game, and the half ended 37-30.
The rebounds were a big factor in the matchup, as the Broncos were able to negate one of the Otters’ strengths, outworking them on the glass 44-41.
“That’s every game for us,” Saba said. “Hit the glass hard on both ends of the court.”
The Broncos turned up the heat again offensively coming out of the break. They dominated the inside with multiple close-range finishes, culminating a 13-2 run with a Bell tip-in and-one to make the score 50-32.
The Otters didn’t let up, matching the Broncos offensively throughout the next several minutes and cut the lead to 12 with eight minutes remaining.
A seven-point flurry from CPP stretched out the lead again, with a Broadous layup giving CPP a 68-51 lead, but the Otters responded with a 7-0 run of their own to bring it back to a 10-point deficit.
The offense dried up completely for CPP, as the Broadous layup was the final field goal in the game.
However, the Broncos’ defense made up for their struggles on the other end of the court. Despite the Otters cutting the lead to five via a tip-in from guard Ashton Reese, CPP stayed composed, made free throws and grinded out the 74-67 win.
Five Broncos finished the game with 10-plus points while Goldberg added nine. The spread in scoring follows a recent uptick in the Broncos’ ball movement, registering 15 or more assists in each of the last four matchups.
Ball security was another positive for the Broncos, limiting themselves to only 10 turnovers, four less than their season average.
The victory marks the first CCAA Tournament win for the CPP men’s basketball team since the 2019-2020 season.
CPP advances to the CCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals March 6, riding into the game off the back of a six-game win streak, where they will face the undefeated one seed Cal State East Bay.
“They’re a great basketball team and they’re playing really well, but so are we,” Kamansky said. “This is what we wanted.”
Feature image courtesy of Cael Cross
