Things have gone from bad to worse for the Sacramento State men’s basketball team. Saturday’s 85-62 loss on the road to Idaho State marked the team’s seventh loss in its last eight games.

As of Sunday, the team sits two games out of the sixth and final conference playoff spot, making the next two road games critical for the team’s chance of getting in.

Nothing has come easy for the Hornets, leaving players and coaches searching for an answer.

“We’re just trying to put 40 minutes together,” senior forward Alex Bausley said after a home loss to Eastern Washington on Jan. 25. “We need to remember how to win.”

Sac State faces Montana tonight and Montana State tomorrow on the road. The Hornets have already defeated Montana for one of their three conference wins to date.

Coach Jerome Jenkins said he thinks that players haven’t stepped into leading roles like he had hoped.

“I don’t think the team realizes just how good the players that left were,” he said, referring to the losses of DaShawn Freeman and Jason Harris.

“Guys who were role players last year need to be our best players.”

A problem all year for the Hornets has been their rebounding and free throw shooting.

Sac State has been out-rebounded by an average of 40-34 so far this season, and the team’s free throw percentage on the season is just 61 percent.

The team remains confident that a tournament run is possible.”The conference is really balanced,” junior Kris Groce said. “I think if we can make it into the tournament we know we can beat anybody.”

Despite that optimism, the cards aren’t in the Hornets’ favor right now. The team will need at the very least three victories out of their remaining six just to sneak into the tourney. A tall task considering four of their final six games are on the road, where the Hornets are 2-10 on the season.

The tournament is still reachable, but it has to start now. Benn Hodapp can be reached at [email protected]