Reggie Jones scored a career-high 30 points and carried the Warriors on his shoulders as they rallied from down 13 points before dropping a heartbreaker, 66-65, in the final seconds of a CCAA game against No. 23 Cal Poly Pomona.
After Marcus Walters tied the game with a jumper with 96 seconds to go, a Matt Rosser free throw with six ticks left proved to be the final difference for Pomona. The Broncos stayed undefeated at 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, but not before a huge scare against a determined Cal State Stanislaus team.
The Warriors lost for the first time this season and dropped to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the CCAA. They will travel back up north to take on San Francisco State at the City by the Bay today at 7:30 p.m. SF State (2-6, 0-2 CCAA) lost to Chico State, 72-66, Thursday.
Stanislaus had the ball under the Pomona basket with 1.6 seconds left to play Thursday, but a last attempt long attempt by Dan Daviess didn't favor the Warriors.
Jones was the superman for the Warriors Thursday night inside a loud Kellogg Gym. The senior center was 13-for-19 from the field and 2-for-2 from long range. He also added a pair of free throws to finish with 30 points, eclipsing his previous best of 29 scored Feb. 18 versus Cal State San Bernardino. Jones also grabbed nine of the team's 30 rebounds.
The Warriors trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half early after Pomona came out with six straight points. Stanislaus was down by 13 again with 13:02 to go on a Broncos three-pointer before the rally.
Jones got the Warriors started with a three-pointer from the baseline at 12:35. That sparked a 10-0 run during a 73-second span to cut the CPP lead down to three, 50-47, with a Clinton Tremelling triple at 11:12. Vincent Fuller also nailed a trey during that spurt.
Cal Poly Pomona would go back up by seven a moment later but Stanislaus again battled back. CSUS took a 63-62 lead at 2:55 on another three-pointer by, who else, Jones.
Mitchell Anderson made a layup and nailed a free throw for Pomona before Walters tied the game at 1:36. However, no one would score another field goal after that with just a Rosser free throw for the final count.
While Jones was hot going 13-for-19 shooting, the rest of the Stanislaus team was a combined 12-for-36.
Anderson finished with 23 points to lead the Broncos. Terrence Drisdom added 14 points with eight rebounds to pace Pomona.