Jameel Pugh scored 24 points as the Hornets throttled the NAIA Bethany Bruins, 72-45, Tuesday night at the Hornets Nest. It was Sacramento State’s first and only exhibition game of the season.

The Hornets jumped out to an early 9-0 lead in the game’s first three minutes and led 31-4 after Pugh exploded from a crowd in the paint for his first spectacular slam of the season.

“I wasn’t even thinking about dunking,” Pugh said of his first dunk. “It was a last minute decision when I was up there.”

Pugh didn’t wait long for his second dunk, just five minutes later he stole the ball at half-court and beat his defender for a rim-rattling, two-handed slam. Pugh shot 8-of-18 from the field — including 8-of-11 from the line — and had eight steals. Pugh’s 16 first half points was more than the Bruins combined team total of 15.

Sophomore forward Alex Bausley contributed 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting — including three 3-pointers — and had six steals.

Junior point guard DeShawn Freeman had 10 assists and five steals. Freeman was limited to 20 minutes because of four personal fouls calls on aggressive steal attempts.

“He took a lot of chances once we went up big,” head coach Jerome Jenkins said. “He still has to learn to hold back and mature.”

Sac State led 44-15 at the half, but hit a rough stretch in the second half. The Hornets lacked the same intensity shown earlier in the game and had trouble breaking the 3-2 zone implemented by the Bruins coming out of the locker room.

Jenkins attributes the stagnant offense against the zone to the small amount of time devoted to practicing zone offense.

They were outscored by Bethany 30-28 in the second half.

Jason Harris and Randy Adams did not play due to minor ankles injuries but suited-up. They will both be ready for the regular season opener. Both Chris Lange and James Payne did not play due to academic ineligibility and were on the bench but not in uniform.

Freshman Davon Roberts played significant minutes and contributed eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and five rebounds. Other freshmen Schuyler McKay and Jason Gilzene played 18 minutes and 20 minutes respectively.

“All my freshmen impressed me,” Jenkins said. “They were fearless out there. They are all going to play this season.”

The Hornets started the game with Freeman, Pugh, Bausley, Roberts and junior forward Aaron Perry.

Senior point guard E.J. Harris scored 11 points and had five assists in 25 minutes.

Bethany College is located in Scotts Valley, just outside Santa Cruz.

The Hornets will play their first regular season game at University of Michigan on Nov. 19.