They really had no choice.

Win at home and control their own destiny.

Lose at home and be at the mercy of the Big Sky Conference — a conference that currently has only a three game differential between second and last place.”We basically told each other we have to turn it up right now,” guard Joel Jones said.

Two minutes and 15 seconds into the Hornets 76-67 win over the University of Montana on Saturday, Jones did.

It all started with a steal from point guard DaShawn Freeman.

It ended with Jones — rim in one hand, ball in the other — momentarily — and about three feet of air between Jones’ Nikes and the floor of the Hornets Nest.

His flight departed from just inside the free-throw line and the dunk sent the crowd into hysterics and the Grizzlies into a panic. Neither ever fully recovered.

“I told the guys that our backs were against the wall,” head coach Jerome Jenkins said. “But I told the guys we could definitely get this done and get a sweep.”

Two days before Saturday’s win, Sac State defeated Montana State University 77-71.

“This is the most focused we have been this year,” forward Alex Bausley said. “We’re playing more as a team …We didn’t want to let the season go down the drain. We are trying to accomplish something this year.”

The Hornets (9-11, 3-4) currently sit in a three-way tie for fourth place with Montana State (11-9, 3-4) and defending conference champs, Weber State (10-10, 3-4). If the postseason started today, Sac State would be in.

But the Hornets still have seven remaining conference games and five will be on the road.

“We have to win road games,” Jenkins said. “If we want to be champions, if we want to win this conference, whether we win the conference outright or win the Big Sky Tournament we have to win on the road. That’s our motivation.”

In the Hornets win over the Grizzlies athleticism finally prevailed.

Jones scored a team-high 22 points and added a dunk over 6-foot-7 Kamarr Davis. Jones couldn’t be guarded along the perimeter — he found his way to the basket with a quick dribble and shot 8-of-13 from the field including two three-pointers.

Also scoring in double figures was Joseth Dawson and Jameel Pugh, who finished with 11 points each. Dawson and Pugh connected on the second dunk of the night when Pugh was able to grasp hold of a Dawson alley-oop pass that gave Sac State a 23-12 lead.

But on a night when the offense seemed to do little wrong, Sac State’s defense was even more reliable.

Montana took a 49-48 lead in the second half after going on a 17-9 run from the start of the third quarter, but the Hornets would retake the lead on a jump shot from Pugh and maintain control of the game for the next 10 minutes despite 24 points from Davis in the post.

“I don’t know if it was so much their defense as it was us just making dumb plays on offense,” Montana guard Kevin Criswell said of his team’s inability to regain the lead. “We had crucial turnovers toward the end of the game that kind of killed us.”

Bausley had three of Sac State’s 11 steals and Criswell, who added 14 points for Montana, combined with guard Derrick Mansell for 10 of the Grizzlies 17 turnovers.

Pugh had two steals of his own, one that left him with a clear path to the basket.

“Jameel had a great steal and I knew he was going to tear the rim down and it was just a matter of him finishing,” Jenkins said.

While most dunkers slam the ball through the hoop while on their way into ascension, Pugh actually grabbed the iron while he was descending from above the rim — something now referred to as a “swish-dunk.”

Pugh has moved into the forward position and has been snagging rebounds along with Cedric Thompkins.

Thompkins currently averages 5.3 rebounds per game — 10th in the Big Sky — but more importantly is pulling down 2.25 offensive rebounds per game. In Thursday’s win over Montana State, Thompkins gave the Bobcats fits.

Whether he was attempting a hook shot or turn around jumper, he missed only one time out of 11 attempts. He led the Hornets with a 22-point performance.

Junior point guard James Payne, who had only seen playing time in seven games and only made two shots this season, changed the course of Thursday’s game.

The Bobcats starting point guard, Jason Erickson, was leading the Big Sky in scoring with 17.2 points per game and Thursday he led all scorers with 24. But while Payne was in the game, Erickson was held to one assist and was forced into one turnover.

“(Payne) deserved this opportunity,” Jenkins said. “I just had a gut feeling that he was going to bring the energy. That’s what he does everyday for us.”

In both wins the Hornets did most of the little things that coach Jenkins stressed. Against the Bobcats the Hornets made 22-of-27 free throws, while the offense got 14-second chance attempts.

Sac State dished out 15 assists — five coming from Dawson — while the defense was able to come up with 10 steals.

“Guys were really tired of losing,” Pugh said. “We had our backs to the wall, so we just came out fighting. When you corner somebody into a tight spot they’re going to come out fighting. Nobody on this team is ready to give up or quit. We still have our goals and we’re going to fight hard to accomplish them.”

The Hornets will travel to Northern Arizona University on Saturday to play the second place Lumberjacks (12-8, 5-2). Sac State lost earlier in the year to NAU 80-73, but in 2002-03 when they traveled to Flagstaff, they came home with an 85-81 win.