Box Score
ROHNERT PARK, Calif- It was set up just right for a dramatic finish to send two Sonoma State seniors off their home floor with a win for the last time. With 2.9 seconds remaining,
Chad Chambers snagged a rebound off a Cal Poly Pomona missed free throw and called a time out. The Seawolves then went the length of the floor and
Sterling Arterberry had an open shot from 30 feet out, but it missed just wide, giving the Broncos the 65-63 victory on Saturday night at The Wolves' Den.
Sonoma State falls to 8-15 overall and 7-11 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play. With the loss, the Seawolves stay firm in the eighth spot in the conference standings with just four games remaining in the regular season. Cal Poly Pomona rose from second to a tie for first place with the victory, improving to 16-5 overall (14-4 CCAA).
After a three-pointer by
Will Olsem gave the Seawolves an early 24-15 lead,
Patrick Scott stole the ball and went the other way, finishing with a two-hand jam to put Sonoma State ahead by 11 with 6:47 remaining in the first half. From then on, the Seawolves fell cold, scoring just one field goal in the final six and a half minutes as the Broncos took advantage with a 13-4 run to close out the opening frame.
In the second half, Cal Poly Pomona chipped away at the already narrow lead, eventually pulling ahead (41-39) on a layup by Tobias Jahn with 12:43 remaining in the game. Both teams battled until the end -- the Broncos never led by more than three points in the final six minutes.
The Seawolves had a shot, though, to pull ahead down the stretch. Down by two points at 65-63 with 1:14 remaining, SSU had three chances at tying (or pulling ahead), but two turnovers and the missed three-ball by Arterberry at the buzzer doomed the Seawolves in their upset bid for the second night in a row.
Olsem again led the way for the Seawolves with 18 points, including four from downtown. Scott and Pratt chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Pratt also dished out a game-high seven assists.
Kyle Shandera, who played in his final home collegiate basketball game Saturday, added nine points, grabbed five rebounds and had three assists. Chambers, the other SSU senior, had four rebounds.
Donnelle Booker and Mitchel Anderson led the Broncos with 13 points, combining on 10-of-17 from the floor. Cal Poly Pomona, as a team, hit 52.7 percent of its shots (29-55) while holding Sonoma State to just 39.6 percent in the same statistical category (21-53).
Sonoma State will now focus its attention to road in which the Seawolves will travel to Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus next weekend, before wrapping up its 2009-10 regular season at UC San Diego (Feb. 24) and at Cal State East Bay (Feb. 26). The top eight teams at the end of the season will qualify for the CCAA Championship Tournament.
Box Score: Cal Poly Pomona 65, Sonoma State 63
