For 30 minutes the eyes of the nation and the sellout crowd of 2,057 inside of Acker Gym got a taste of why the Chico State men's basketball team is ranked No. 8 in the nation and boasted the best start in the history of the program. Then they all saw why Cal Poly is a top-20 team as well.
 

The 20^th-ranked Broncos battled back from 18 points down with just over 10 minutes to go and finished the game on a 33-9 run to beat Chico State 67-61 in a game broadcast on ESPN3 as the NCAA Division II Game of the Week.
 
The game lived up to that billing. The Wildcats were dynamic on the offensive end, moving the ball in dizzying fashion and drilling shot after shot over the first three quarters of the game. Chico State's defense was like a slamming door. And the Wildcats were absolutely definitive on the glass.
 
Then the door slammed on the Wildcats. They were left wondering how to beat a Broncos' squad that has now handed them two of their four losses of the season.
 
Chico State fell to 20-4 overall and 14-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and had its 16-game home conference win streak snapped. Cal Poly Pomona improved to 20-5 overall and 13-5 in the CCAA.
 
Chico State's lead atop the CCAA standings is back to a half game over UC San Diego and a game and a half over the Broncos with three to play.
 
Robert Duncan scored 14 of his game-high 23 points during a 19-2 run to end the first half that put the Wildcats in control. The junior guard also pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds and dished out four assists. He actually outscored the Broncos on his own in the first half, 18-17. However, he also committed eight of the team's season-high 24 turnovers that ultimately led to their undoing.
 
Jalen McFerren had 17 points but committed six turnovers. Isaiah Ellis finished with 14 points and a career-best 13 rebounds.
 Cal Poly Pomona freshman point guard Jordan Ogundiran matched Duncan with 23 points and made 10-of-10 free throws in the second half. The Wildcats held CCAA Player of the Year candidate Jordan Faison to just two points and one rebound in the first half. But the big man dominated the paint down the stretch and finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
 
The Wildcats led 52-34 with 10:26 to play after Duncan fed Ellis for an alley-oop dunk. But they turned it over on four of their next five possessions. Tanner Giddings air-balled the front end of a one-and-one on the other. 
 

On the other end, Cal Poly Pomona cashed in six straight times down the court. Chris Sullivan hit a pair of jumpers, Quentin Taylor hit a 3, and Ogundiran hit three free throws to propel a 13-0 run, capped by Ogundiran's driving score that cut the lead to 52-48 with 7:35 to play.
 
The Wildcats recovered momentarily, and stretched the lead back to seven when Ellis converted a three-point play. But Taylor drilled a 3 on the other end to keep the tension high and Sullivan tied the game at 59 with 1:56 remaining.
 
Cal Poly Pomona got over the hump two possessions later when Faison wrangled an offensive rebound and put it home with 1:07 to play.
 
Corey Silverstrom and Jalen McFerren both had good looks from 3-point range in the final minute, but came up empty. Faison made a couple of free throws with 11 seconds left and then blocked McFerren's layup attempt on the other end before grabbing the rebound to seal the victory.
 
Silverstrom, who has been the Wildcats' best perimeter shooter this season, finished 0-for-9.
 
The Wildcats finished with a 41-30 advantage on the glass, but that number is a bit deceiving. Up 18 with 10:26 to go, they led the battle of the boards 37-16. But the Broncos collected 14 of the final 18 caroms to help key their comeback.
 
Chico State is back in action Saturday against Humboldt State at 7:30. Giddings and Christopher Magalotti – the team's two seniors – will be honored prior to the game.
 
The Wildcats' magic number to clinch at least a share of their second consecutive CCAA crown and third in five years remains at two.
 
They'll wrap up the regular season with a home game Thursday against Cal State Dominguez Hills and road game Saturday at Cal State L.A.