POMONA — (Dec. 2) A tight fought battle between two of the top teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Association ended on a three-pointer that trickled home, giving Cal Poly Pomona a 58-55 win over Humboldt State on Saturday.

As expected, the first CCAA meeting between HSU and Cal Poly Pomona came down to the end, a result even predicted by the preseason coaches' poll, which ranked the two teams No. 1 and No. 2 in the league. After the Lumberjacks protected a narrow lead throughout the second half, they fell short of the win when Larry Gordon's shot from the top of the key dribbled off the front iron and back iron before dropping home with 4.6 seconds remaining.

The Jacks were unable to come up with a countering shot, dropping to 3-2 overall and 0-2 after the opening weekend of CCAA action. Cal Poly Pomona improved to 4-1 and 2-0 in league.

"This is a marathon, not a sprint, so I'm going to remind my players that there's a long way to go," HSU head coach Tom Wood said. "We're going to correct some of the things we saw tonight, and we'll be right back in it."

Devin Peal was HSU's top scorer with 14 points, with Kevin Johnson adding 12 and Cy Vandermeer 10 for the Jacks. Gordon paced Pomona wiht 17 points and six rebounds, and Kaelen Daniels scored 10 as the only other Bronco in double figures.

Early action set the tone for the tight game that was expected. Cal Poly Pomona forged ahead, taking a 7-6 lead on Billy Hofman's three-pointer, but the Jacks answered with a three by Jeremiah Ward to regain the advantage.

Humboldt held its lead briefly before the Broncos forged ahead again, taking a 13-11 lead on a fastbreak coming off an HSU  turnover. But  Johnson tied the score with a layin, then put his team back in front with a three-pointer.

Back to back dunks, the first on an alley-oop by Johnson, and and the second coming on a two-handed slam by Burns kept the momentum in HSU's favor. Peal's free throws a minute later extended HSU's lead to 25-17.

Cal Poly Pomona battled back to within four points, going inside to Kevin Neveu for a layin and later a pair of free throws. HSU surged again, Sheufelt's three-pointer put the Jacks ahead 32-23 before Gordon ended the half with a layin on the other end to trim the advantage to seven at the break.s

The Broncos came out for the second half more composed, working for open shots that helped them pull within three points. The Jacks answered Pomona's surge with one of their own, scoring on a Ward three-pointer and a layin by Peal to reestablish the lead at eight points.

After an offensive lull by both teams, the Broncos were first to respond, pulling within five points on Gordon's three-pointer.  They kept the pressure on, scoring inside on a passes to Melvyn Nicholson on consecutive possessions to cut the Jacks' lead to 50-49 with just under five minutes remaining.

Humboldt State squandered possessions down the stretch, including two missed shots in the final 1:42 before Gordon's roller provided the game-winner for Cal Poly Pomona.

Humboldt State takes a break in competition before returning to its own East Gym for the Lawrence R. DeBeni Sr. Memorial Tournament on Dec. 15 and 16.

Humboldt State vs Cal Poly Pomona
12/2/06 7:30 p.m. at Kellogg Gym
CAL POLY POMONA 58, HUMBOLDT STATE 55
HUMBOLDT STATE (3-2, 0-2)
PEAL, Devin 5-8 4-5 14; JOHNSON, Kevin 5-11 1-2 12; VANDERMEER, Cy 5-6 0-0 10; WARD, Jeremiah 3-13 0-0 8; BURNS, Tyler 3-3 0-0 6; SHEUFELT, Will 1-6 0-0 3; MOYER, Grayson 0-1 2-2 2; WAY, Evan 0-4 0-0 0; KEHRIG, Michael 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 7-9 55.
CAL POLY POMONA (4-1, 3-0)
GORDON, Larry 7-11 0-0 17; DANIELS, Kaelen 5-8 0-0 10; NEVEU, Kevin 3-6 2-4 8; PULIDO, Luis 2-6 0-0 6; NICHOLSON, Melvyn 2-2 2-3 6; HOFMAN, Billy 2-6 0-0 5; COOK, Dion 1-11 2-2 4; FORELLI, Bill 1-3 0-0 2; KRAUSE, Kyle 0-0 0-0 0; BOOKER, Donnelle 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 6-9 58.
Humboldt State................   32   23  -   55
Cal Poly Pomona...............   25   33  -   58
3-point goals-Humboldt State 4-16 (WARD, Jeremiah 2-8; SHEUFELT, Will 1-3; JOHNSON, Kevin 1-5), Cal Poly Pomona 6-17 (GORDON, Larry 3-5; PULIDO, Luis 2-3; HOFMAN, Billy 1-5; COOK, Dion 0-1; FORELLI, Bill 0-2; BOOKER, Donnelle 0-1). Fouled out--Humboldt State-None, Cal Poly Pomona-None.
Rebounds-Humboldt State 36 (PEAL, Devin 6; JOHNSON, Kevin 6; VANDERMEER, Cy 6), Cal Poly Pomona 29 (GORDON, Larry 6). Assists-Humboldt State 16 (SHEUFELT, Will 6), Cal Poly Pomona 13 (HOFMAN, Billy 4; PULIDO, Luis 4). Total fouls-Humboldt State 14, Cal Poly Pomona 11. A-587

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