Cal Poly Pomona wins NCAA Division II basketball title

Reporting from Springfield, Mass. —  For Cal Poly Pomona, this season’s NCAA Division II championship run was as much about winning a national title as it was about redemption.

One year after losing on a three-pointer in overtime against Findlay (Ohio) in the title game, the Broncos rose to the top of the Division II basketball world and erased that heartbreak with a 65-53 victory over Indiana (Pa.) on a magical Saturday afternoon at the MassMutual Center.

Just before the clock struck zero, the Broncos (28-6) began celebrating their title and the completion of a remarkable journey to the championship.

Senior guard Austin Swift, the most outstanding player of the Elite Eight, said he could breathe a sigh of relief once the buzzer sounded.

“It feels good to come back and get the win after a heartbreaking loss last year,” said Swift, the net hanging around his neck in the post-game press conference. “We fought hard and put it all out there on the floor. There was no denying us tonight.”

From start to finish, the Broncos were the better team. They shot 53.2% (25 of 47) from the field and used a balanced attack to secure the victory against the second-ranked Crimson Hawks (33-3).

Donnelle Booker, injured all of last season, led the Broncos in scoring with 13 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Swift and Dahir Nasser, the only two seniors on the roster, added 12 points apiece. Tobias Jahn made all three of his shots from the field and scored 10 points.

“Indiana is a great team, but our kids played super tonight,” Cal Poly Coach Greg Kamansky said. “Our will power was tremendous. We probably played the best we have played all year. The ghost of last year will never haunt us again.”

Cal Poly came out playing an aggressive zone defense, guarding the dangerous Indiana shooters on the outside and not allowing passes to get into the post.

Nasser took care of the scoring for the Broncos, hitting back-to-back jumpers near the free-throw line before Booker drove into the lane for a layup and a 6-0 lead. The quick start forced the Crimson Hawks to burn a timeout.

It didn’t help.

Cal Poly held the upper hand throughout the first half, building a double-digit lead and refusing to let the explosive Crimson Hawks offense get untracked.

The Broncos, though, were on a roll offensively. They shot 53% in the first half and helped their cause with five three-pointers that staked them to a 35-25 lead at halftime.

Indiana shot only 28.8% in the first half and only stayed in the game because it was able to go 10 of 12 from the free-throw line.

But the Broncos never let their lead slip below 10 points in the second half as they finished off the stunning upset.

Indiana finished the game shooting 30.2% (16 of 53) from the field, the fourth lowest in Elite Eight history, and was paced by the 12-point effort of Darryl Webb. Akida McLain added 10 points.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Nasser was already in front of the camera near center court, shouting with joy and wearing a wide smile.

“I was definitely in the moment,” Nasser said. “I just sat there on the court after the game and enjoyed watching everyone celebrate. I’ve been waiting for this since last year. I wanted to savor every minute of it.”