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| Sophomore Darren Peterson plays video games during a Tuesday afternoon community service opportunity at a YMCA in Lakeland, Fla. |
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| Sophomore Jeff Bonds signs autographs for youngsters during a visit to a YMCA in Lakeland, Fla. on Tuesday. |
LAKELAND, FLA. ? The wait is almost over for Cal Poly Pomona?s men?s basketball team.
The Broncos, the 2002-03 NCAA Division II West Region champions, will face tradition-rich Kentucky Wesleyan Wednesday, March 26, at 11:30 a.m. (PST) in one of four games at the Elite Eight in Lakeland, Fla. The game will be aired live on the Cal Poly Pomona athletic Web site at www.cpp.edu/~athletic. A pre-game show is expected to air at 11:15 a.m. (PST).
The Broncos arrived in Florida late Sunday evening and have been participating in a variety of events since Monday. All Elite Eight teams were introduced at a reception Monday evening at the Lake Mirror Promenade in Lakeland. Players
and coaches enjoyed a barbeque dinner and also posed for pictures with alligators and snakes. Cal Poly Pomona also went through a one-hour practice at Florida Southern University during the day.
On Tuesday, the Broncos participated in a community outreach with youngsters at a local YMCA. The players engaged the youngsters in games of ping-pong, foosball, pool and video games. The players and coaches also signed autographs during their two-hour stay.
?It meant a lot to the kids,? Cal Poly Pomona guard Darren Peterson said. ?We talked to them and you could tell they enjoyed it. When you can put smiles on their faces, it makes you feel good. You don?t really do something like this because you have to, you do it because you want to.”
?It?s good to reach out to the community and hang out with them a little bit and let them know what we?re doing and give them some encouragement toward school,? Cal Poly Pomona forward Michael Ridgway said. ?A lot of them wanted our signatures and wanted to know how tall we were. It was nice to play some games with them and hang out with them
for the afternoon.”
PolyCentric will bring you more stories on the Broncos throughout their playoff run. For the latest updates on all Bronco athletic teams and events, visit 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, or go to the Elite 8 Web page at www.flsouthern.edu/sid/elite8.htm. Tournament brackets can also be accessed at polycentric.cpp.edu/ncaa1_2003_gif.
