Huge crowd sees devastating Stanislaus loss to Pomona

Outside Fitzpatrick Arena, rain fell.

Inside, the offensive drought of the Cal State Stanislaus men’s basketball team not only continued, but everything else also dried up on what could have been a watershed night for the program.

Cal Poly Pomona, which beat the Warriors by three points 34 days earlier, led wire-to-wire Friday night to claim a 77-48 decision in what only could be described as a humiliating loss for Stanislaus.

“They came out and hit some incredible shots, and it seemed like we couldn’t get any rhythm against their zone,” said guard Shay Mataele, who led Stanislaus with 11 points. “We’re just not getting it together right now on offense, and we have to figure that out fast.”

The Warriors (13-7 overall, 10-5 California Collegiate Athletic Association) needed a win to continue building their case as one of the top two teams in the CCAA, and they knew going into the game they’d have a record crowd supporting their every dribble.

The combination of the game’s importance and homecoming festivities lured 1,928 into The Fitz, the largest crowd for Stanislaus since joining the CCAA in 1998, and the largest overall since Jan 11, 1992, when 1,957 showed up for a Northern California Athletic Conference game against UC Davis.

To the crowd’s credit, most seats remained filled until the bitter end, although this game yearned for sweetener almost immediately.

Pomona (16-4, 12-3) scored the first 10 points, and by the time Stanislaus had the chance to burn through three timeouts had built a staggering 33-8 advantage.

“I don’t think we were nervous, but I don’t think we had the edge to play that type of game,” coach Larry Reynolds said. “It’s my fault for not having them ready, but we weren’t ready to play a team like Pomona, which is playing excellent right now.”

The Warriors actually closed the gap to 43-21 at halftime, but by that point the trend had been set, as 13 turnovers were converted into 20 Pomona points.

Had Stanislaus been able to reel off a mini-run of, say, eight points, perhaps the crowd could have boosted the Warriors back into the game.

But there would be no run on this night, as Pomona built second-half leads as large as 33.

“Usually, we can get back into a game with our halfcourt defense, but we’re not going to get out and pressure against a team like Pomona that has so many guys who can handle the ball,” Reynolds said. “So once we get down double digits, it will be tough for us to get back in against Pomona.”

This decision, coupled with Chico State’s 72-64 victory over UC San Diego, leaves Chico and Pomona tied atop the CCAA with San Diego and Stanislaus tied for third heading into the Tritons’ visit to Turlock tonight.

Another large crowd is expected, and the Warriors would like nothing more than to give the fans something to cheer.

“I was disappointed because we had so much support,” Mataele said. “I wanted to give the fans what they came to see, and we weren’t able to do that. I hope we can make that up to them.

“We have to get on top of our things, like yesterday. We don’t have room for anymore losses.”

Women

Cal Poly Pomona 63, Stanislaus 46 – If ever there was a game in which the Warriors needed to be at full strength to have a chance to win, this was it.

The Broncos – sporting five transfers from Division I programs – have a size and skill advantage on most teams in the CCAA, and that was magnified against Stanislaus, which was missing 6-foot-3 redshirt sophomore center Erika Larsen with an ankle sprain.

Without Larsen inside, Broncos senior Jada Blackwell had little resistance. The 6-1 transfer from Arizona State – the league’s leading scorer at 19.1 points per game – cruised to 28 points on 13-of-18 shooting and had 10 rebounds to push the Broncos to 14-5 overall and 12-3 in the CCAA.

“(Blackwell) was a productive player in Division I, and this is basically a Division I team,” Stanislaus coach Wayman Strickland said. “There’s no excuses on our part, but Pomona executed and played well.”

The Warriors (6-13, 4-11) trailed 26-19 with 2:52 left in the first half, but Blackwell scored six points in the 7-1 run that closed the half, and Pomona went on to build leads as large as 21 in the second half.

“We were in the game in the first half, even after shooting only 19 percent,” Strickland said. “We have to knock down shots to have a chance.”

Riley Holliday led the Warriors with 10 points and nine rebounds, but Stanislaus finished shooting a woeful 23.4 percent (15 of 64) from the floor.

There were some bright spots. Stanislaus committed only 15 turnovers and held its own on the boards, getting outrebounded only 40-37.

“We’re trending in the right direction,” Strickland said. “Pomona started the year ranked No. 1 in Division II, and they’re starting to rise to that level. We’re not on that level yet, but we’re building that way.”

This story was originally published February 6, 2015 at 9:40 PM with the headline "Huge crowd sees devastating Stanislaus loss to Pomona."