Box Score For 45 minutes the Chico State men's basketball team was have as much fun as ever on a basketball court. The second half was a different, disappointing story in a 69-66 loss to 17th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona on Senior Night Saturday at Acker Gym.

The careers of Sean Park, Rashad Parker, Amir Carraway, Nate Appel and Giordano Estrada were celebrated in a moving ceremony prior to tipoff. (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTO GALLERY.) Riding that wave of emotion they hit 8-of-14 threes – Parker and Estrada three apiece. They attacked the glass with reckless abandon, outrebounding the Broncos 21-17 and scoring seven second-chance points. They dictated the action on the defensive end, forcing the Broncos into 13 turnovers that led to 15 points.

Perhaps they had a "senior moment" while they were in the locker room up 39-21, forgetting that it takes 40 fervent minutes to beat a team with the pedigree of the 17th-ranked Broncos.

Cal Poly Pomona outscored the Wildcats 28-10 in the first 12 minutes of the second half to tie the game at 48 and took a 54-52 lead on Quentin Taylor's 3 two minutes later.

The Broncos were the ones showing the emotions of confidence from the opening tip of the second stanza, pounding their chests and nodding their heads: winning loose balls and most of the battles for big rebounds.

The Wildcats momentarily reclaimed the lead on Parker's 3-pointer and Park's free throws before Jordan Finn's 3-pointer with 4:03 remaining gave the Broncos the lead for good.

Chico State flashed some of its first-half magic down four in the final minute, grabbing three straight offensive rebounds before Estrada stuck a long 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 67-66 with 27 ticks remaining. DeRonn Scott answered with a pair of free throws and Carraway and Parker misfired on 3-point attempts in the final 13 seconds.

The Wildcats were just 4-of-20 from beyond the arc in the second half, outrebounded 22-19, and forced only three turnovers.

Chico State finishes the regular season 20-6 overall and in third place in the CCAA at 15-6. The Wildcats will play San Francisco State in the opening round of the CCAA Championship Tournament at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario Thursday at 2:35 p.m.

Cal Poly Pomona, which earned a first-round bye and will face in the Chico State-San Francisco State winner Friday at 2:35, is 21-5 overall and finished in second place in the CCAA with a record of 19-3.

Parker poured in a game-high 19 points and season-high six assists while Estrada scored 17. Park had 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Jordan Semple scored 11 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

But the Wildcats' stat of the day belonged to junior Jordan Barton, who pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds in 26 minutes of pugilism in the paint.

CCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT CENTRAL (includes a bracket and schedule)