Jerome Jenkins and his swarm of Hornets left the gym on Thursday feeling robbed after their game with the Montana Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies Ryan Slider grabbed a questionable offensive rebound and finished a lay-up with four seconds left in the game, seizing the lead and the win, 67-66.

Sac State?s final attempt fell considerably short, landing in the hands of Dan Trammel at mid-court.

Trammel and Slider led the Grizzlies (8-13, 3-7) with 17 and 13 points, respectively.Senior forward Rickie Glenn, who made his return to the hardwood after an ankle injury kept him sidelined for the Montana State game, has seen victory snatched from their hands before.

“It was tough,” said Glenn, who netted a game-high 18 points. “It was tough but sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn?t. And, it?s not happening thisyear.”

The Hornets (4-17, 1-9) suffered the same type of defeat against Idaho State, losing the game on a similar play inside the final five seconds, 71-67.

“Right now its just one of those years,” Jenkins said. “I?ve seen this before where a team can?t win the close one. Hopefully next year the ball will bounce our way, right now it?s hard, we?ve been in this situation two or three times. We just came out short and I feel bad for the kids. They are doing everything that I asked them to. They fought their hearts out.”

Sac State trailed by as many as seven with fewer than five minutes remaining in the game, 59-52, when the Grizzlies Brent Cummings nailed two free throws.Yet, timely leadership down the stretch by Pablo Gonzales and Glenn would help narrow Montana?s lead.

Gonzales and Glenn were clutch performers in the end, as they scored nine of Sac State?s final 14 total points. Gonzales?s three-pointer with 21 seconds left in the game gave Sac State it?s firstlead since the 10:45 mark, 66-65.

“Players make plays,” Jenkins said of Gonzales. “They all know they have the green light to do certain things. I?ve been on him about hitting big shots.”

The rest of the game however, was a tale of inconsistent shooting for the Hornets, while Montana shot the lights out during the final frame, for a 51.7 percent clip.

Sac State?s woes from the charity stripe continued, shooting a horrid 54.8 percent (17-31) for the game. It got worse from the field, where the high-octane Hornets shot a dismal 36.7 percent (22-60).

With the game knotted up late, Jenkins believes that poor free throw shooting allowed Montana to stay in and, eventually, win the game.

“Poor free throw shooting can hinder your chances in any game,” Jenkins said. “That?s been the story of our lives. Hopefully next year I?ll have a better free throw shooting team.”

Although the loss prevented the Hornets from earning back to back wins, the Hornets play-off hopes remain mathematically alive.

At least, that?s what Jenkins thinks.”We have to win to have a shot,” said Jenkins. “Tonight was huge.”