With just over four minutes left in the game, Sacramento State was nursing a double-digit lead over Portland State when 6-foot-9 Viking forward Nguye Kaladokubo attempted what would have been a thunderous one-handed dunk.

But quicker than his arm could come around full circle and his feet could elevate off the ground, Sac State players Jameel Pugh, Cedric Thompkins and Joel Jones descended in a defensive effort. Their hands hovered high in the air over Kaladokubo for a split second disturbing the forward’s shot as he tried to put a damper on Sac State’s 76-64 win.

Kaladokubo may have been sent to the free-throw line, but the Hornets’ message had already been signed, sealed and delivered.

“Last game we didn’t have that killer instinct…,” guard Brandon Guyton said of the Hornets loss to Northern Arizona on Saturday. “We felt like we just had to come out (tonight) and pick it up even more as far as defensive intensity and rebounding — that’s our main focus right now.”

Sac State (7-8, 1-1) left its man-to-man defense and played a zone for most of the game forcing the Vikings (7-9, 1-2) into 15 turnovers. Point guard DaShawn Freeman had a game-high three steals contributing to a team total of nine. The Hornets came into the game averaging 8.71 steals per game, second in the Big Sky.

Sac State was handed the task of stopping the conference’s leading scorer, 6-foot-5 swingman Blake Walker. To add to the list, the Hornets – who have been struggling to control the boards since the start of the season – had to keep Walker, the conference’s third-ranked rebounder and Seamus Boxley, the conference’s top rebounder, away from the glass.

So head coach Jerome Jenkins inserted senior Cedric Thompkins into the starting lineup and the forward finished with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed five rebounds, four of which created second scoring chances for Sac State.

“I’ve been coaching Ced for years and I have been winning with Ced for years,” coach Jenkins said. “It was good for Ced to have a breakout game and hopefully he can continue to play this way…”

Thompkins began the season as a member of the starting lineup but was replaced seven games into the season as his play was described by his coach as inconsistent. So sitting on the bench instead of crashing the boards was where Thompkins was just one game ago until coach Jenkins decided to put the Big Sky’s leading offensive rebounder from two years ago back into the starting rotation while center Tony Champion came off the bench.

“I was a little frustrated but then again I wasn’t really producing the way I should have,” Thompkins said of his play in the last few games. “It just wasn’t coming but I am going to take this to build on.”

The Hornets held the Vikings to under 70 points and are now 6-1 when they hold their opponents under 70.

They also held Walker to 10 points and Boxley to 14. Forward Antone Jarrell finished with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

In the second half Sac State began to pull away after going to the locker room with a 30-26 lead.

Guyton scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, sinking four three-pointers.

Sac State’s zone defense kept the Vikings out of the lane forcing Portland State to take outside shots. The Vikings didn’t sink many and the Hornets — for the first time in a few games — were able to run the fast break and get easy baskets including dunks from Jones and Pugh who finished with eight and six points respectively.

“The more stops we get translate into more good shots which translates into a higher (shooting) percentage,” Guyton said.

In fact Sac State shot 45.9 percent for the game, 50.0 percent in the second half alone. And with the offense running smoothly and the fast breaks finally culminating Sac State finished with a game-high 19 assists, five of which belonged to point guard E.J Harris.

Sac State will next play Eastern Washington at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday in the Hornets Nest. The Eagles (6-10, 2-1) are on a two-game winning streak with wins over Montana State and Northern Arizona. Guard Alvin Snow is averaging 15.3 points per game.