By Benjamin Grover, March 17, 2026
The Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team season concluded after losing the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament semi-final March 3 against No. 2 nationally ranked Cal State East Bay 62-52.
In a game that expected to be a blowout on paper, considering the Pioneers historic perfect season record and their 79-46 win over the Broncos back Jan. 29, the Broncos held their own against the Pioneers. It was also the farthest the Broncos had gone in the CCAA tournament since losing to UC San Diego in the final of the 2020 CCAA tournament.
The Broncos held the Pioneers to 14.8 points under their season average of 76.8 points per game. The Broncos were also the fifth team this season to keep the Pioneers under 70 points.
“We knew at the beginning of the year every time you play Pomona, it’s going to be a battle,” said Pioneers head coach Bryan Rooney. “… It was going to be an absolute back and forth affair. We have a tremendous amount of respect for coach Kamansky’s teams.”
The Bronco’s defense was on full display throughout the game. Senior big man Kevin Simeth recorded a season-high five blocks for the Broncos with four coming in the first half.
“I think it brings energy,” Simeth said. “My teammates know that I’m here in the paint. It just allows us to go back and play offense.”
The Broncos combined for a total of eight blocked shots, the most since Nov. 30, 2023, when they recorded nine blocks in a 70-53 win over Cal Poly Humboldt. However, the Broncos could not create the same amount of consistency on the offensive side of the ball.
The Broncos had their second lowest field goal shooting percentage at 30.9%, almost 15% under their season field goal average. The only time they shot worse was their previous game against the Pioneers.
“I thought we played extremely hard,” head coach Greg Kamansky said. “We just couldn’t quite execute. … We were a couple shots away to make it a real game at the end, but we just couldn’t quite get it down.”
The first half concluded with the Pioneers only leading by three points over the Broncos 30-27, with the Broncos’ 3-point shooting proving vital to keeping the game close.
The Broncos shot 10-30 from the field in the first half, with half of their shots coming beyond the arc.
Junior guard Malcolm Bell hit back-to-back 3-pointers after the Broncos fell in a 6-0 hole three minutes into the game. Three-pointers from redshirt senior forward Jake Goldberg and freshman guard Asher Schroeder kept the Broncos in the game early, giving them a four-point lead against the Pioneers.
The Pioneers shooting, although not much better than the Broncos shooting 12-31 in the first half, remained more consistent.
Layups from junior forward Takai Emerson-Hardy, junior center Terence Haywood and sophomore guard Amare Campbell helped the Pioneers regain the lead.
Senior guard and CCAA Player of the Year Tyree Campbell also scored seven points in the first half for the Pioneers.
The Broncos’ shooting didn’t improve in the second half, but the Pioneers did.
The Broncos shot 7-25 from the field in the second half, scoring only one 3-pointer. The Pioneers field goal and 3-point shooting both improved in the second half, shooting 11-26 from the field while hitting three 3-pointers.
“We went into halftime knowing we needed to pick it up for the second half,” Tyree Campbell said. “… Our ability to score the ball at all three levels, rebounding the ball and pressuring the whole game was the biggest factor.”
The Pioneers came out strong in the second half, scoring 10 unanswered points, which set the tone for the second half.
The Broncos attempted to launch a comeback halfway through the second half. Simeth scored four, Schroder a 3-pointer, and senior guard Zach Broadous hit a jump shot to cut down the Pioneers’ lead to eight.
Layups from Bush and Haywood and back-to-back 3-pointers from Tyree Campbell and senior guard Ramsey Huff set the score to 56-41 and killed the momentum for a Broncos comeback.
The Broncos tried to force a late comeback through redshirt junior forward Michael Saba. Saba scored five points late, including a dunk to cut the Broncos’ deficit to nine points with under a minute remaining.
It then became a free-throw game, where the Broncos were unable to complete their comeback.
With the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season, the Broncos have a handful of seniors who are set to graduate at the end of the year, including guard Demarreya Lewis-Cooper, guard Sam Hunter, Simeth and Broadous.
“I think the culture has definitely shifted in a positive way,” Broadous said. “The coaches coached us in a real way and made sure we were going to be better people on and off the court. … I’m definitely going to miss being a Bronco.”
The Broncos will now turn the page toward focusing on improving the team for next season. Kamansky said the team plans to get back to winning playoffs again by focusing on their recruiting.
Kamansky also talked about how the team carried themselves, which made the 2025-2026 Broncos special to him.
“I’m just proud of how they handled adversity,” Kamansky said.” They didn’t turn on each other, didn’t turn on us. … They love each other, and it was fun seeing them bond.”
Feature image courtesy of Cael Cross