There was a time when the buzz around the Hornets Nest reached activity levels normally unseen until playoff games at Sacramento State.

When lines formed outside the small gym and wrapped around the adjacent Yosemite Hall.

When people were getting sent home without a place to watch the Hornets play.

When fans were so juiced up for the game that their excitement was too much for the stands to handle and the wooden planks buckled under the explosion of emotions.

That time (Jan. 14, when the Hornets stood atop the Big Sky Conference with a 4-0 record) is now over.

Sac State dropped two more home games last week and now stand in fifth in the Big Sky at 5-6.

Those two home losses, to Weber State (10-14, 4-7) and Idaho State (11-12, 3-8), runs the home losing streak to four games.

The Hornets, who historically are much better at home than the road, hadn’t lost four-straight conference games at home since Jerome Jenkins’ first season, five years ago.

The Hornets have been caught in a Groundhog’s Day-style funk, losing the four home games in similar fashion and by a combined nine points.

Dating back to the Jan. 19 Montana State game where an optimistic crowd of 1,208 saw the team fall behind early, but battle back in the second half to take the lead in the final minutes. They would go on to lose the game 78-75 when Alex Bausley and Loren Leath both missed potential game-tying 3-pointers.

At the time, head coach Jerome Jenkins and senior DaShawn Freeman said the team may have needed a wake-up call to get them back on track.

Perhaps someone should call the concierge at the front desk and tell them to try again.

The scene at the end of the Montana State game has played out again and again for the Hornets at home.

“Until we learn how to play defense in the clutch we aren’t going to win close games like that,” guard Freeman said after the most recent loss. “It’s not hard; it’s not hard at all.”

Two days after Montana State, Bausley again missed a 3-pointer with one second left that would have won the game against Montana.

On Thursday, Sac State lost a six-point lead in overtime to lose to Weber State ?” again in the final seconds.

Clark Woods missed a 3-point shot with 11 seconds left down by two.

Saturday, with a chance to clinch a Big Sky conference playoff spot, they again lost in the final seconds.

Loren Leath put the team up two with just 21 seconds left, but the Hornets were unable to get the stop they needed as Idaho State’s David Schroeder hit the game winner with seven seconds left.

Despite the recent 1-6 streak, Jenkins remains optimistic.

He said the team will go out on the road and get the victory they need clinch a spot in the playoffs.

They will get a chance at 6:05 p.m. today at Montana.

“We’ll get it together. I got to believe we will,” Jenkins said.

Robert Alvis can be reached at [email protected]