POMONA – This weekend's road trip took the Chico State men's basketball team from the northernmost outpost in the California Collegiate Athletic Association to Southern California for two matchups against teams it entered play against tied for first in the CCAA standings.
 
The Wildcats threatened to get two huge wins, but in the end, simply ran out of gas.
 
An 11-0 run had the 20^th-ranked Wildcats within a bucket of No. 7 Cal Poly Pomona with under 10 minutes left, but the Broncos finished the game with a flourish and a 69-56 win Saturday night at Kellogg Arena. 
 
Chico State, which beat Humboldt State 86-68 Thursday night in Arcata, slipped to 12-3 overall and 6-2 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Cal Poly Pomona improved to 14-1 overall and 7-1 in the CCAA behind Jordan Faison's 24 points and 10 rebounds.
 

The Wildcats slipped into a three-way tie for second place in the CCAA with Humboldt State and Cal State San Marcos. Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego are tied for first, one game ahead.
 
The loss capped a challenging stretch of games for the Wildcats, who have played 11 of their first 15 on the road. They are 9-2 away from home, but will play eight of their next 11 at home beginning Friday and Saturday night against San Francisco State and Sonoma State, respectively.
 
Chico State never led Saturday, falling behind 13-2 over the first four-and-a-half minutes. The Wildcats trailed by as many as 14 in the first half and went to the half down a dozen.
 
Cal Poly Pomona's lead was 13 before the Wildcats reeled off 11 straight points to get within a basket. Reserve point guard Tyler Harris gave the Wildcats a spark off the bench with assists on buckets by Isaiah Ellis, Tanner Giddings and Robert Duncan to spark the run. Corey Silverstrom capped it with a layup and two free throws that made it 44-42 with 10:37 to play.
 
After a Faison score, Tanner Giddings' two free throws made the score 46-44 with 9:42 left.
 
But the Broncos, who feature the nation's top-ranked scoring defense, reclaimed control of the game by scoring the next 10 points. That lead never fell below seven, giving Head Coach Greg Kamansky his 330^th victory with Cal Poly Pomona, which is a new school record for wins.
 
Duncan led the Wildcats with 18 points. Giddings scored 16 on 6-of-7 shooting. Drew Kitchens, playing in his 100^th game for the Wildcats, finished with seven. He is the 18^th player in Chico State history to reach the century mark in games played.