Things started off well for the Hornets men’s basketball team Thursday night, but a blown lead at the end of the first half spelled their doom as they lost to Eastern Washington 100-85.

Sacramento State (7-13, 2-5) held a 40-27 lead towards the end of the first half, but the Eagles (11-10, 5-4) went on a 20-7 run to close out the half tied with Sac State at 47.

“We lost the game in the first half,” head coach Jerome Jenkins said. “The team wasn’t playing together tonight and that’s why we lost.”

“(The Eagles) were the aggressor all night and we were impatient on offense,” he said.

At the beginning of the game the Hornets were getting defensive stops and making their shots in order to get out to the 13-point lead. They also were able to keep pace with the Eagles in rebounding throughout the first half.

By the end of the game, however, the Eagles held an astounding 45-30 rebounding edge as they outrebounded Sac State 30-16 to end the game.

Explosive Eagles sophomore guard Rodney Stuckey led all scorers with 31 points, doing most of his damage at the line where he was 15-16 on the night.

Eastern Washington held a 41-17 free throw advantage as the Eagles seemingly got free throws on every second half possession. The Eagles made 32 of their 41, while the Hornets struggled to make theirs at 8-17.

Senior center Paul Butorac was unstoppable in the game, scoring 21 points for Eastern Washington on 8-11 from the floor. He also added nine rebounds.

Senior forward Alex Bausley led the way for Sac State with 23 points, five rebounds, five assists and a game-high six steals.

“We’re just trying to put 40 minutes together,” Bausley said of the team’s rough second halves as of late. “I think we’ve forgotten how to win and we need to remember what it’s like.”

Sophomore guard Loren Leath contributed 16 off the bench. Junior forward/center Angel Alamo was the only other Hornet in double figures with 11 points.

Eastern Washington managed to score 100 points without hitting a single three point shot. Sac State actually outscored the Eagles from the field in the second half (34-32), but the Eagles got 21 points from the line to Sac State’s four.

The Hornets don’t have long to stew over the loss as they host the Vikings of Portland State at 7:05 p.m. on Friday at the Nest.

Benn Hodapp can be reached at [email protected].