by US Fed News

The Cal Poly Pomona Broncos made history in the city where the sport of basketball was invented. And Coach Greg Kamansky can chalk up Wednesday's victory to the play of his three-headed Bronco. Senior All-American Larry Gordon (Pomona) poured in 21 points and 10 rebounds and teammates Tobias Jahn (Soph. Babenhausen, Germany) and Walter Thompson (Sr. Venice) each played pivotal roles as the Broncos defeated No. 12 Southwest Minnesota State 79-74 in the NCAA Elite Eight quarterfinals before 3,908 spectators at the MassMutual Center.

The Broncos now advance to the semifinals for the first time in their four trips to the NCAA quarterfinals (1964, 2003, and 2005) and face fourth-ranked and last year's national runner-up Augusta State (30-4) at 6 p.m. EDT Thursday. The game will be televised on the CBS College Sports Network. "This game was typical of how we have played in the tournament - particularly the BYU Hawaii,'' said Kamansky, whose team is now 24-7. "We made the adjustments at halftime and had different people step up at different times.'' Jahn, who was held scoreless in the first half, scored 13 points in the final 20 minutes and gave the Broncos' their first push against the Mustangs in the second half. Trailing 35-29 with 19:44 to go, Jahn scored 10 points in the first 7 minutes and 16 seconds. He hit four field goals and a pair of free throws to push CPP out front, 47-43 with 12:44 remaining. After Jahn's spurt, it was Thompson's turn to keep CPP ahead. The senior from Venice hit a jumper to push the Broncos ahead, 49-43 with 12:12 left. He would then hit another jumper and added a pair of 3-pointers for his own 10-point run. His final 3- pointer was critical as the Mustangs (28-7) drew to within a point (56-55) on DeAnthony Zanders' three 5:01 left. Thompson's three pushed CPP ahead 59-55 with 4:34 left. And that's when the Broncos went to work at the free throw line. CPP hit 14 straight shots from the charity stripe to earn the win. They finished 18-of-19 from the line in the second half and completed the game with an 89.7 percent (26-of-29) effort. "We got big-time production from those three guys,'' Kamansky said. "Larry ism so steady and when Tobias gets going, we play better. He's able to make shots inside. "And Walter has the ability to provide a spark. His effort in that stretch kept us out front.'' Not to be outdone was the standout play from senior guard Dahir Nasser. The Phoenix native provided a solid floor game for the Broncos and he finished with 12 points and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the line. But what has been the case all season long has been the leadership and poise provided by Gordon. His double-double effort was his fourth straight in NCAA play and he became the Broncos' all-time leading rebounder. With 6 minutes remaining, Gordon gathered a long rebound and surpassed Paul Scranton's mark of 935 set from 1963-66. Gordon now has 938 for his career and he is the only player in the history of CPP to have at least 1400 points, 900 rebounds, 500 field goals, 375 free throws, 125 steals and 40 blocks. "We've played so well over the stretch and what's been so fun is that everyone is a part of our success,'' Gordon said. The Broncos shot 60 percent from the field in the second half (15-of-25) and completed the game with a 56.8-percent effort. The Mustangs, winners of the Central Region, were led by Andy Bielke's 17 points. Ryan Krome scored 13. The Broncos held the Mustangs' All-American Ross DeMasi to just two points - a pair of free throws in the second half. The Broncos opponent today is Augusta State (Ga.), which battled back from a 13-point half deficit to advance with 70-62 victory over No. 15 Christian Brothers University of Memphis, Tenn. The Jaguars were the national runner-up last season, losing the title game to Winona State (Minn.). Senior guard Reggie Peyton tossed in 20 points in Wednesday's quarterfinal. Junior Ben Madgen added 16 - 12 of those in the second half. Augusta shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) in the second half. BRONCO NOTES ... Cal Poly Pomona out-rebounded SMSU 31-18... CPP is now 21- 3 when it out-rebounds its opponent and 15-1 when it owns a margin of 10 or more in that category... Gordon's double-double was his 35th of his career and 13th on the season, tying his mark of a year ago... The victory matches the most for Cal Poly Pomona since the 2004-05 season. The record for most wins is 26 set by the 1953-54 club... It marked just the second time that CPP allowed a team to shoot better than 50 percent from the field. The Mustangs fired 54.2 percent (26-of-48)... Cal State Dominguez Hills fired 56.9 percent in its 84-63 win Dec. 5. NCAA Elite 8 Quarterfinal At Springfield, Mass. Cal Poly POMONA 79, S.W. Minnesota ST. 74 S.W. Minnesota ST. (28-7) Beilke, Andy 6-14 1-1 17; Krome, Ryan 5-8 2-2 13; Huseby, Taylor 4-6 1-3 9; Roehl, Scott 3-3 3-6 9; Zanders, DeAnthony 2-3 4-5 9; Dale, Nick 4-5 0-0 8; Andrews, Kevin 2-4 2-2 6; DeMasi, Ross 0-1 2-2 2; DeRock, Jon 0-4 1-2 1; Peschong, Andrew 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-48 16-23 74. Cal Poly POMONA (24-7) GORDON, Larry 8-11 4-4 21; JAHN, Tobias 5-11 3-3 13; THOMPSON, Walter 5-9 0-0 12; NASSER, Dahir 2-3 8-8 12; SWIFT, Austin 3-5 3-3 9; FELLS, Dwayne 2-3 2-5 6; SUMMERS, Robert 0-2 6-6 6; ROSSER, Matthew 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-44 26-29 79. S.W. Minnesota St............. 33 41 - 74 Cal Poly Pomona............... 29 50 - 79 3-point goals-S.W. Minnesota St. 6-18 (Beilke, Andy 4-9; Zanders, DeAnthony 1-2; Krome, Ryan 1-4; DeRock, Jon 0-3), Cal Poly Pomona 3-6 (THOMPSON, Walter 2-4; GORDON, Larry 1-2). Fouled out-S.W. Minnesota St.-Krome, Ryan, Cal Poly Pomona-THOMPSON, Walter. Rebounds-S.W. Minnesota St. 18 (Andrews, Kevin 4; Huseby, Taylor 4), Cal Poly Pomona 31 (GORDON, Larry 10). Assists-S.W. Minnesota St. 12 (Krome, Ryan 5), Cal Poly Pomona 10 (JAHN, Tobias 2; THOMPSON, Walter 2; FELLS, Dwayne 2). Total fouls-S.W. Minnesota St. 22, Cal Poly Pomona 21. Technical fouls-S.W. Minnesota St.-None, Cal Poly Pomona-None. A-3908.For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

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