The physical contest took several twists and turns and featured three technical fouls — two on CPP and one on HSU — in front of a packed house in the last game to be played in Humboldt State's East Gym. The Lumberjacks will move into their new facility across Union Street for the 2008-09 season.
WIth the victory, Cal Poly Pomona improved to 12-14 overall and advances into the CCAA semifinals Friday at San Bernardino. Humboldt State dropped to 20-8 and will wait until Sunday's NCAA Division II seedings come out to see if they'll move on to the West Region Tournament next week.
Angelo Tsagarakis scored 17 points to lead Cal Poly Pomona, with Kevin Neveu and Larry Gordon each adding 13 points. Kaelen Daniels was the fourth Bronco in double figures with 12 points.
Grayson Moyerl had 17 points and seven assists for HSU, and Devin Peal added 15. Cy Vandermeer had 12 points with nine rebounds and Nick Green came off the bench to score 11 for the Lumberjacks.
Cal Poly held a lead from midway through the first period, gradually pulling out to an 11-point advantage when Tsagarakis hit a three-pointer with 5 minutes, 28 seconds left in the half. Humboldt rallied within two points on Nick Green's dunk, but Neveu drained a three-pointer as time expired on the half to put the Broncos ahead, 37-32.
The Jacks rallied back again in the second half, taking a brief lead at the halfway point on Moyer's layup. The Broncos held the Jacks off down the stretch, however, two free throws by Tsagarakis providing the three-point advantage before the Jacks' failed to manage a good shot in their attempt to force overtime.
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