With 37 seconds remaining in Saturday’s game against Montana State, Sacramento State’s Derek Lambeth walked off the court to a standing ovation from the Hornet Gym crowd.

In his final home game, the senior forward poured in 25 points — 23 in the second half — while guiding the men’s basketball team (11-16 overall, 5-9 in Big Sky Conference) to their first-ever Big Sky Tournament berth with a 72-52 win over the Montana State Bobcats (11-16, 5-9).

“Tonight was an unbelievable performance by Derek Lambeth,” Hornet head coach Jerome Jenkins said. “Unbelievable. Every time he let it go it looked good, and I knew it was good.”

With both teams coming off of Thursday losses (Sac State lost 77-71 to Montana; Montana State lost 81-71 to Northern Arizona), Saturday’s game marked a battle for the sixth-and-final seed into the Big Sky Tournament.

The Hornets fell behind 29-24 to the Bobcats after forward Shea Washington hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from beyond half court to end the first half.

Lambeth scored 14 points over the first eight minutes of the second half to spark the Hornets’ comeback.

“For me the game seemed to slow down (in the second half); I could see things better, I could see the rim better, and that was when I started hitting shots,” said Lambeth, who scored only two points on 1-of-7 shooting in the first half.

The Hornets put the seal on their first tournament appearance with a 16-4 run to close the game.

Forward Jimmy White scored 16 points and grabbed 11 boards for the Hornets, while point guard Raashad Hooks had seven points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The Bobcats were led by Washington, who had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

All four Hornet seniors — Leo Cravey, Lambeth, Hooks and White — were given the starting nod by head coach Jerome Jenkins, and the quartet combined for 49 points.

On Thursday, Montana (13-15, 7-6) used 47 points from guards David Bell and Kevin Criswell to knock off Sac State.

The Hornets were led by Lambeth’s 21 points.

Montana will host the Hornets in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament on March 8.

The Hornets lost to the Grizzlies, 66-59, when the two teams met in Missoula, Mont. on Feb. 1.

“We’re looking forward to the opportunity,” Jenkins said of their first-round match-up. “We know we are going to get zoned, we know we’ve got to make shots. But we’re going after the Grizzlies.”

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