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| Members of the 2003 NCAA Division II West Region championship team celebrate after a thrilling 91-84 double-overtime victory over Cal State San Bernardino Monday night at BYU-Hawaii. |
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| Sophomore Jeff Bonds scored 31 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the title game and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. |
LAIE, HI ? Cal Poly Pomona?s men?s basketball program has done it again.
The Broncos (23-7) continued their magical ? and historic ? season with a thrilling 91-84 double-overtime victory over Cal State San Bernardino Monday night in the NCAA Division II West Region championship game. The victory sends the Broncos into the Elite Eight for the first time in the program?s history.
The No. 4-seeded Broncos, who have come back from huge deficits all year long, might have outdone themselves on Monday when they came back from a 19-point deficit in the final 16:15 of regulation against the No. 2 seed Cal State San Bernardino.
David Sybesma (So., Corona, Corona Centennial HS) sent the game into overtime with a buzzer beater from the lane that bounced high off the back rim and into the net to send the Bronco bench into celebration mode.
The Broncos led 74-72 late in the first overtime after two free throws by Guy Beahm (Jr., Willow Glen, West Valley JC) gave them the edge with 16.6 seconds left. Bobby Burries hit two free throws with 4.4 seconds left to send the game into a second overtime.
The Broncos took the lead for good in the second overtime when Jonathan Williams (Jr., Pasadena, John Muir HS) made a steal and a driving layup to put Cal Poly Pomona ahead, 76-74. A 3-pointer by Bonds a short while later made it 81-76 and put the Broncos into control.
The Coyotes cut the deficit to three points, but a huge 3-pointer by Beahm gave the Broncos an 86-80 lead and all but settled the outcome.
Cal Poly Pomona (23-7) will be making its first-ever trip to the Elite Eight after equaling a program record for most wins a season originally set by the 1963-64 team.
Jeff Bonds (So., Compton, Mayfair HS) picked a great time for the best game of his Cal Poly Pomona career. Bonds scored a career-high 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and was named the NCAA Division II West Region Most Outstanding Player. Sybesma, who had a tremendous tournament as well, added 17 points and was named to the five-player All-Tournament team.
Burries and Lance Ray of Cal State San Bernardino and Austin Nichols of Humboldt State were also named to the All-Tournament team.
Michael Ridgway (Jr., Houston, TX, Lamar University) had 17 points and hit all six of his field-goal attempts. Beahm finished with 10 points.
Burries had 24 points to lead the Coyotes, who were appearing in their third straight regional final. The reigning CCAA champs also got 21 points and 12 rebounds from Lance Ray. Te?Ron Levy added 12 points.
Things looked bleak early for the Broncos, who fell behind 29-11 in the first half. That was the exact deficit they faced last Saturday when they had to rally from a big deficit to knock off Cal State Bakersfield. Cal Poly Pomona was able to close the gap to 31-25 by halftime, but the Coyotes started the second half with a 15-2 run and opened up their biggest lead of the game, 46-27.
Miraculously, though, the Broncos got back into it. They steadily chipped away at the lead until taking their first lead of the game on a basket by Sybesma with three minutes to go. The Broncos then fell behind by four points, 65-61 with 20 seconds left. Sybesma made a layup with 13 seconds to go and then, after a missed free throw by the Coyotes, Sybesma hit the biggest shot of the year for Cal Poly Pomona. Sybesma got a pass from Bonds with the clock winding down, drove the lane and stopped for a 10-footer in the lane that bounced up and then in.
In the first overtime, the Broncos trailed 72-69, but a 3-point play by Bonds and two free throws by Beahm put Cal Poly Pomona ahead, 74-72 with 16 seconds left. Burries then sent the game into a second overtime with two free throws with 4.4 seconds to go.
In the second overtime, Williams steal and layup gave the Broncos the lead for good.
The Broncos will return to California on Tuesday, March 18. The flight is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles at 9:30 p.m. PST.
For the latest updates on all Bronco athletic teams and events, go to www.cpp.edu/~athletic or call (909) 869-2812. For tournament brackets and the latest playoff scores and information, visit the NCAA Web site at www.ncaasports.com.