Broncos Win Tale of Two Halves in Furious 49-43 Comeback Over No. 8 Toros

Box Score

POMONA -- Defending NCAA National Champion Cal Poly Pomona showed its heart of a champion tonight after battling back from a 20-point second-half deficit to take a 49-43 win against 8th-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills after holding the Toros to just 10 points in the second half. Senior Marcquintice Davis led the Toros with 15 points in the loss.

Looking like a team on a mission after dominating perennial power CS San Bernardino one night earlier, the Toros connected for a whopping 57.9% of their field goals in a first half that saw them take a 33-19 lead into the break, which included a perfect 8-for-8 performance from the foul line compared to CPP's 7-for-23 first half effort that included just one made 3-pointer in 10 attempts.

The roles reversed after the break as the Broncos began to assert their aggressive nature, tallying 11 more free throw makes and 13 more trips to the line than the Toros.

CPP improved by just under 10% on its second half performance from the field, but was aided more by CSUDH connecting on just 4-of-21 field goals after intermission, a drop of nearly 40% from its first half effort.

After taking a 20-point lead at 39-19 on a Davis lay-up with 14:36 left in regulation, the Broncos cut their deficit to 10 over the next five minutes, to four three minutes later and to just 43-42 after a Kevin Menner made free throw.

CPP's comeback became complete after a Toro foul sent Mitchel Anderson to the line with just 2:05 left, where he converted both attempts to give CPP its first lead since 3-2.

The defending champions continued their offensive assault and defensive lockdown by scoring the last five points of the game, holding the Toros scoreless over the game's final 9:44, the last points coming on a James Cawthorne lay-up that gave CSUDH a 27-43 lead.

The Toros, who fell to second place in the CCAA with a 17-3, 13-3 CCAA mark, look to get back on the winning track at home with the first of four consecutive league games next Friday as CS Monterey Bay visits Carson, with first tip set for 7:30 pm on the "Dave Yanai Court" in the Torodome.

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