When it comes right down to it, like every other sport, basketball is a game of chance.

And in Sacramento State’s first Big Sky Conference game of the season against Northern Arizona, both teams had their chances.

Sac State missed four of its six field goal attempts in the final two minutes, while the Lumberjacks, who were teetering on a four point lead, converted 10-of-12 free throws.

Game. Set. Match.

The Lumberjacks (8-6 overall, 1-0 Big Sky) capitalized while Sac State dropped its first conference game of the season, 80-73.

“I thought the game went back and forth,” Hornet head coach Jerome Jenkins said. “We had our chances tonight. Every time we took the lead we had a breakdown on the defensive end and gave them hope again.”

The Big Sky’s player of the week, NAU’s Aaron Bond, had a game-high 19 points. The 6-foot-7 senior stepped out from underneath the basket to knock down three 3-pointers. He spent the rest of the night battling in the post for rebounds and second chance attempts.

With a guard-heavy team, the Hornets (6-8 overall, 0-1 Big Sky) often rely on their athleticism to outplay and outgun their opponents. But in the Big Sky athleticism is hard to find, and when the game is slowed down as teams rely on fundamentals, screens and rebounds, the Hornets have to find an answer on defense.

Alongside Bond in the paint was Adrian Hayes who scored 15 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Sac State, who went into the game ranked first in the Big Sky on defending the 3-point shot, gave up eight 3-pointers to the Big Sky’s No.1 ranked 3-point shooting team.

“We knew they were going to pressure us on defense,” Lumberjack guard Kelly Golob said. “We thought if we could be patient on offense they would break down eventually and we would find a good shot.”

Golob knocked down three 3-pointers and added 11 points. In Sac State’s last meeting with NAU in 2003, Golob scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds as Sac State lost at home, 63-45.

“Sometimes when you tell guys how things are going to be they kind of have to witness things themselves,” coach Jenkins said. “This is a little bit of a rude awakening for us to show us how intense conference play is going to be.”

With three players who have never played in a Big Sky game before, redshirts E.J. Harris and Jameel Pugh and true freshman Alex Bausley, the realization of how intense games are has finally arrived.

“They know what to expect to now,” guard Joel Jones said. “So when we’re in practice everybody can really pay attention when coach yells at us and tells us to focus in. They actually got a little taste of it now.”

What the Hornets tasted tonight was nothing new. They’ve struggled on the boards all season and Saturday’s game was not an exception. The Lumberjacks pulled down 17 offensive boards and outrebounded the Hornets 42-30.

Those rebounds not only gave the Lumberjacks a number of second and third scoring chances but slowed down Sac State’s fast-breaking-offense. Without the rebounds to spur quick breaks the Hornets played the majority of the game working out of the half-court set.

Sac State shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the first half, as they trailed 43-40 after a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from DaShawn Freeman banked in off the glass.

Hornet guard Brandon Guyton knocked down three 3-pointers on his way to 11 first half points while Jones sunk two 3-pointers of his own. Guyton, one of the Hornets’ more reliable shooters, missed three field goals and three 3-pointers in the second half.

Jones knocked down two more 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 16 points.

“We were just trying to find our rhythm in the second half,” Jones said. “We didn’t come out with same intensity. It’s not like we had a big drop off. We just didn’t turn it up.”

Guard Joseth Dawson, who scored 16 points, was Sac State’s offensive answer in the second half. His quick drives through the key either led him to lay-ups or the free-throw line, but from beyond the 3-point line he sunk only one of his seven attempts.

Freeman also scored in double figures with 10 points and added six assists. He came into the game second in the Big Sky averaging 4.54 assists per game.

The Hornet defense has given up 80 or more points only three times this season and the Hornets are 0-3 in those games.

Sac State will next face Portland State at 7:05 p.m. Thursday at the Hornets Nest. The Vikings are 7-8 overall, 1-1 in conference and will be coming to Sac State after fighting for an 89-78 win over Montana. Portland State is led by 6-foot-5 junior Blake Walker who leads the conference averaging 18.2 points per game.