Every step taken by this year’s Sac State men’s basketball team will be a test, and the first of those exams was resoundingly passed on Wednesday as it beat Saint Mary’s by a score of 75-61 at Hornet Gym.

The significance of the win lies mainly in the history of the team series. Saint Mary’s has dominated Sac State with an 18-7 lifetime advantage, and have beaten the Hornets six consecutive times, including a 64-55 win last year.

“This is our first win against Saint Mary’s in a long time,” head coach Jerome Jenkins said. “I reminded our guys of that, and I think that helped us push through tonight.”

And “push through” they did, getting off to a 16-6 lead with center Arinze Anoruo putting up six points in the initial run.

The Gaels would fight back however, as Sac State lost a little bit of composure and were bitten by the turnover bug during a 17-3 Gael run that resulted in a 23-19 deficit.

Saint Mary’s lead was short lived, as Pablo Gonzales hit a three-pointer with 7:40 remaining in the half, spurring a 12-3 run that would put the Hornets up 35-31 going into the halftime locker room.

Another test that Saint Mary’s offered in this game was directed right towards the Sac State big men; Anoruo and senior forward Rickie Glenn, as the Gaels were much taller and deeper at the forward and center position than Sac State. Both men stepped up to the challenge, sharing a team-high six rebounds a piece, while Glenn scored a game high 23 points and Anoruo chipped in 12. Anoruo also collected four of his six rebounds on the offensive glass.

“Both “Z” (Anoruo) and I realize that we have to play big this year,” Glenn said. “It’s something that we talked about before the year. There are a lot of teams that are bigger than us, and we have to get in there and do the job.”

In the second half, the Hornets were able to pull away, and take complete control of the game. With 13:58 remaining, an intentional foul was called against Saint Mary’s Jovan Harris, and Rene Jacques made both free throws. The automatic possession that ensued resulted in a bucket by Glenn on an offensive put-back, stretching the Hornet lead to nine.

Sac State then got into a 15-6 run led by Glenn who scored three straight times down the floor. Gonzales capped the run with a three-pointer. This put the Hornets up 12, and they would eventually stretch that to their largest lead of 15, before walking away with the 14-point victory.

Following Glenn’s 23, and Anoruo’s 12, Gonzales also put in 12 and Rame Batta had a nice game with seven points and a game-high eight assists.

The Gaels were led by Ross Benson who scored 20 and grabbed nine rebounds.

“We had some adversity when they came back in the first half, but this is a new Sac State,” Gonzales said. “We were faster, they couldn’t run with us, and it’s great for Sac State that we could beat Saint Mary’s. It’s kind of a revenge thing for us, because they beat us last year. We’re glad to get the win.”