Sacramento State has stolen tournament berths before, clinching Big Sky Tournament appearances in the conference finale the past two seasons.

This year though, Hornets guard DaShawn Freeman made the steal a game early, clinching the Hornets’ (11-15, 7-6) third-straight tournament appearance in its second-to-last conference game.

With just seconds remaining and the Hornets leading by a single point over visiting Montana State, Freeman stole the ball away from driving Bobcats guard Nick Dissly to preserve a 70-68 victory in front of 1,012 on Saturday night.

“I either had to go for it or they were going to get a layup,” Freeman said. “Fortunately, I got it.”

Following the steal, Freeman passed the ball to Jameel Pugh, who was fouled with 1.9 seconds remaining. Pugh hit the first free throw, but missed on the second, resulting in a Montana State full-court heave that drilled off the backboard as time expired.

“I just had to sit and watch the game,” Sac State head coach Jerome Jenkins said. “Ultimately, players play the game and make plays and DaShawn made the play down the stretch.”

Sac State is now tied for third place with Montana. If the Hornets win on the road against Northern Arizona, they will host a first-round conference game. The Hornets can still finish anywhere from third to sixth place in the Big Sky.

Pugh, playing in his final regular season home game as a Hornet on Senior Night, finished with 25 points — including seven 3-pointers — and six rebounds.

“Jameel still has his best basketball ahead of him,” Jenkins said. “He is maturing more and more each game.”

Sac State led by as many as 12 midway through the second half, but allowed the Bobcats to rally back, as the Hornets converted just a single field goal in the game’s final 7:23.

That lone field goal, a mid-range leaner in the lane by Jason Harris, ended up to be the game winner.

Before the game, Sac State fans honored Pugh and E.J. Harris on Senior Night. Both Pugh and E.J. Harris are on pace to graduate this spring.

“It meant a lot for me to go out on a winning note,” said Harris, who finished with nine assists and five points. “But my education was real important to me. I told my dad I was going to go to school and get a degree. You can’t play basketball forever; I know I need something to fall back on.”

Graduating its players has been a greater focus for the Hornets under Jenkins’ tenure. “We had zero graduation rate when I got here and now we have guys graduating from the program,” Jenkins said. “It’s a great testament to my staff, the basketball program and guys believing in me and doing what I ask them to do by going to class.”

Freeman and Pugh scored 25 points each in the Hornets previous game, as the Hornets won 83-80 over visiting Montana last Thursday.

The Hornets overcame a 35-24 first half deficit and Montana’s 59.3 percent shooting from the field. The game was tied at 75 with just 27 seconds left when Jason Harris was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound and converted both bonus free throws. The Hornets converted 8-of-8 free throws in the last 27 seconds to earn the win.

Freeman just barely missed a triple-double with 10 steals and nine assists on top of his points.

“I just felt like I couldn’t let us lose,” said Freeman, who shot 7-of-12 from the field including nine-of-nine from the line and two 3-pointers.