POMONA, Calif. - A strong second-half effort helped lift Cal Poly Pomona over Humboldt State men's basketball in Saturday's 86-76 loss at Kellogg Arena.
The Lumberjacks fell to 13-4 overall and 7-4 against California Collegiate Athletic Association foes. Cal Poly Pomona rebounded from a pair of road losses and improved to 15-4 and 8-4 in conference. With the win, the Broncos moved to 8-0 at home.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, which featured five lead changes and two ties.
Despite shooting 50 percent from the field, HSU led by one, 33-32, at the break. Pomona's Barry Bell scored the final four points of the half, and the Broncos wrapped the first 20 minutes of action on a 6-0 run.
Malik Morgan led the Jacks with nine first-half points. The sophomore guard was 3-for-3 shooting from the field and matched that total at the free-throw line. He also paced the team with four rebounds and four assists.
The veteran Broncos retained the momentum they had snatched away from the Jacks before the break. They scored the first five points of the second half to retake the lead, 37-33.
Morgan and
Nikhil Lizotte sparked an 11-0 run midway through the half that gave HSU a four-point, 55-51, advantage with 11:36 to play.
Pomona wasn't ready to submit to its third straight loss and began a rally of its own. Jordan Faison knocked down a jumper to begin a 13-0 spurt for the Broncos. He capped the run with an old-fashioned 3-point play that gave the home team an 8-point, 66-58, edge with 7:32 left.
The Green and Gold were limited to just five made field goals in the final 10 minutes of play.
Lizotte led the Jacks in scoring with a career-best 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The Yakima, Wash., native was 3-for-6 from outside the arc. Morgan finished the game with 19 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
Thomas Witzel chipped in 15 points and sank three 3-pointers.
"Our freshmen and sophomores showed signs of brilliance with how they competed tonight," said Head Coach
Steve Kinder. "This is a tough venue. We were very happy with how our young players performed tonight."
Pomona won the rebounding battle 35-27 and outscored HSU 14-7 off the bench.
Faison finished with a team-leading 22 points and was 8-of-9 from the field and 6-of-9 at the charity stripe. He grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and dished out seven assists.
"The Broncos were hungry coming off losses last weekend," said Kinder. "They did a nice job pulling off a victory in front of their fans."
HSU welcomes UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino to Lumberjack Arena next week. The Tritons visit Thursday, Jan. 28, and the Coyotes wrap the homestand Saturday, Jan. 30. The Green and Gold have already beaten each visitor on the road this season. Both games tip off at 7:30 p.m.
"There is no place like home," said Kinder. "We look forward to being back at home, and we will be facing two very good teams. If we can play with the same intensity we showed tonight, then we should have success."
