Box Score
TURLOCK — Amidst challenges and crazy moments in a highly intensive men's basketball thriller, the home team Cal State Stanislaus Warriors came out ontop by upsetting 17th ranked Cal Poly Pomona, 74-73, in double overtime.
Many things happened in various times of the game factored into the final outcome. However none were bigger than a three-pointer that didn't go in, but counted, and a huge clutch three-pointer that definitely counted — and sent the Fitzpatrick Arena crowd into a frenzy.
After 50 minutes of basketball was finally played out, the results were favorable for the Warriors as they improved to 17-8 overall and 13-8 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Warriors have already turned in the program's most successful season since 2002-03, when the Warriors went 18-11, a win-total they can match on Saturday when they host Humboldt State.
Perhaps it was the 1,000-plus vocal fans or the visiting Pitman High School pep band that gave the team the energy, the Warriors finally snapped a nine-game losing streak to Cal Poly Pomona (20-5, 18-3 CCAA).
The tight game (no one led by more than six points in the second half) came down to the wire in regulation. After a layup by
Marcus Bell and a pair of free throws by
Rob Walters on separate trips (because he grabbed his own rebound on a miss and got fouled again), the Warriors led by three with 12 seconds left.
Pomona missed a three-pointer with four ticks remaining but kicked the offensive rebound to the far corner for another long-range try. As Barry Bell's three-pointer went up, the buzzer sounded and the glass lit up in red, a Warrior tipped the ball on its way down even though the shot was short of the basket. After a discussion, the officials ruled goal-tending thus tying the game and sent the game into overtime.
In the first overtime, the Broncos took a three-point lead with five seconds left after a pair of free throws. On the ensuing Warriors possession,
Tyler Barber hit a fade-away three-point jumper right in front of head coach
Larry Reynolds with 0.5 seconds left to force a second overtime.
After
Clinton Tremelling opened the second OT with a trey, Pomona eventually took a two-point lead with a three-pointer by Jordan Finn, but a pair of
Sam Marcus free throws tied the game again. After a Stanislaus timeout, Marcus took his time with the ball and drove the lane to pick up a foul with eight seconds left to play. He hit one of two free throws to give the Broncos a chance.
But, this time the Broncos took a little too long and the final shot left the shooter's hand just after the final buzzer to end the game.
In the end,
Marcus Bell finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds.
Chris Read, the CCAA player of the week, scored 18 more points and Marcus finished with 15 points — 12 of them came from the free throw line.
Against the stingiest defense in the CCAA, the Warriors shot 46.7 percent for the game and scored 74 points. Cal Poly Pomona had given up an average of 55.8 points.
Barry Bell ended up with 17 points to lead Cal Poly Pomona.
