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| The Broncos will face Seattle University in a first-round game at Humboldt State's East Gym on Friday at noon. |
ARCATA – Cal Poly Pomona's men's basketball team will begin its quest for a third NCAA Division II West Region championship in five years today.
The Broncos, seeded No. 3, will face No. 6 Seattle University in a first-round game at Humboldt State's East Gym at noon. Cal Poly Pomona, which captured West Region championships in 2003 and 2005, is making its fourth playoff appearance in the past five years and its seventh in the program's history.
The game will be webcast on the Cal Poly Pomona Athletics' Web site at www.broncoathletics.com.
If the Broncos win today, March 9, they will face the winner of the No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino-No. 7 BYU-Hawaii contest on Saturday at 5 p.m. The championship game will be held on Monday at 7:30 p.m. The winner will advance to the Elite Eight, which will begin on March 21 in Springfield, MA. All playoff games involving Cal Poly Pomona will be webcast at www.broncoathletics.com.
Cal Poly Pomona finished the regular season ranked 21st in the nation with a 20-7 record. The Broncos have achieved a 20-win season for the fourth time in the past five years and recorded a winning season for the 13th straight year.
The Broncos finished third in the California Collegiate Athletic Association with a 16-6 record. CCAA champion Humboldt State is hosting the regional tournament, while second-place Cal State San Bernardino is the No. 2 seed.
Cal Poly Pomona enters the playoffs with eight wins in its last nine games. The Broncos won eight straight games before losing their regular-season finale to Cal State Bakersfield, which is leaving the CCAA for Division I.
The Broncos are making their fourth appearance in the NCAA playoffs in five years. Prior to 2003, the Broncos hadn't been to the NCAA playoffs since 1976.
After the lengthy NCAA playoff drought, the Broncos qualified in 2003 as the No. 4 seed in the West Region and proceeded to knock off No. 5 Alaska Fairbanks, No. 8 Cal State Bakersfield and No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino to win the regional title in Laie, HI. It marked the Broncos' first trip to the national quarterfinals since 1964.
In 2004, the Broncos drew the No. 6 seed and lost to eventual West Region champion Humboldt State, 86-83, in a first-round shootout in San Bernardino. In 2005, the Broncos entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed and beat No. 6 Seattle Pacific, No. 2 Hawaii Hilo and No. 5 Alaska Fairbanks in Bellingham, WA. to advance to the Elite Eight.
Cal Poly Pomona had three players earn CCAA honors on Tuesday. Dion Cook and Larry Gordon earned first-team All-CCAA honors, while Donnelle Booker was named the conference Freshman of the Year.
On Wednesday, Cook was named to the Daktronics All-West Region second team in voting done by the region sports information directors.