Men’s basketball took a turn for the worse on Tuesday in the team’s 64-44 loss to Utah Valley.

The Hornet’s first point of the game was made two minutes into the first half by senior center Randy Adams in a free throw. Adams scored the only point by Sacramento until senior forward Donald Thomas made the Hornet’s second point of the game with another free throw six minutes in.

When the game clock hit 12:40, the score was 13-2 with the Hornets having only scored on two free throw attempts.

The Hornets had a hard time on offense, but were having just as much trouble on defense as well.

“They kept knocking down my shots and playing hard against my teammates,” said senior guard Loren Leath.

Despite the cheer of “defense!” by the Sacramento State cheerleaders, the Hornets struggled throughout the first half. In two possessions by Utah Valley, the team made six attempts before the Hornets were able to recover a rebound.

“We had 14 turnovers tonight,” said head coach Brian Katz. “It shows that we really need to work on our ball security.”

Sophomore forward Aaron Wilson scored the first non-free throw points of the night with a two-point layup assisted by senior guard Stephen Calton.

At 10 minutes into the first half, four of the six points scored by the Hornets were from penalty shots.

In the second 10 minutes of the first half, the Hornets finally picked up on their defense and held Utah Valley at 20 points for three minutes. During this period Adams scored four points, while Leath scored the Hornet’s first three-pointer.

What looked like a change of play for the Hornets, turned into the worst play of the game as the Hornets were held at 11 points for six minutes while Utah Valley brought its score up to 31. Adams broke the scoreless streak by making a free throw with 2:26 left in the half.

The Hornets had accumulated 10 fouls, while Utah Valley had nine. Fans were yelling at the ref for “unfair” calls against Sac State.

“The officials are officials,” Leath said. “We didn’t lose because of the calls tonight.”

At the end of the first half, the score was 14-33 with junior center Mike Edwards making a layup assisted by junior center Jared Stigall with 20 seconds left on the clock.

Junior center Justin Eller started off the second half of the game with a bang by scoring three points within the first two minutes. Eller also hit the floor multiple times during the second half as he was pushed around by Utah Valley’s defense.

“People say basketball’s not a contact sport,” Eller said, “But it gets really physical out there.”

Eller ended the game tying with Adams, Leath and Wilson with four rebounds each and maintained the best shooting percentage of the night, going four for five from the floor.

The Hornets picked up its defense in the second half by adopting a man-on-man coverage putting pressure on Utah Valley even in the backcourt.

“We need to keep playing hard on defense,” Eller said. “On offense we just need to get our chemistry right.”

The Hornets were able to hold Utah Valley to 31 points, while Sac State was able to bring in 30 points. Junior guard Antonio Flaggs scored a three-pointer and two free throws, while Leath scored four-points, junior guard Jonathan Malloy scored two on a layup and Eller finished the game with a three-pointer.

“Utah played a better game than us tonight,” Katz said. “They won because of it.”

The Hornets hit the road to face New Mexico State on Thursday at 6:05 p.m. and then to Wyoming on Dec. 20. The next home game is against George Washington University on Dec. 23 at 7:05 p.m.

Christopher Neuschafer can be reached at [email protected]