The Sacramento State men’s basketball team defeated the UC Davis Aggies, 59-57, on Wednesday in a close game at the Pavilion in Davis.

UC Davis had three attempts in the final 10 seconds of the game to tie the score, but could not get any shots to fall.

The Hornets (4-4) led by eight at the half, 35-27, using a 17-2 run midway through the first half to lead by as many as 10 points.

The Aggies (3-4) came out in the second half on a 16-7 run, fueled by four consecutive Hornet turnovers, to eventually take the lead, 43-42. It would be the last time Sac State trailed in the game.

The Hornets were lead by junior guard Sultan Toles-Bey. He scored 13 points on 3-6 shooting from the field and 4-4 at the free throw line.

With 2:01 left in the game, Toles-Bey sank two free throws to give the Hornets a 59-55 lead.

“I love taking the big shots,” Toles-Bey said. “At the line, with the crowd, I love that. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

Freshman swingman John Dickson led the team in scoring with 14 points on 5-7 shooting. Late in the game, off a Toles-Bey steal, Dickson drove down the court and had a layup and appeared to be fouled. However, the referees ruled it was an offensive foul, negating the basket and forcing Dickson out of the game as he reached his foul limit.

“It was a questionable call,” Dickson said. “But since he tried to take it, you have to give it to him.”

Senior guard Domineek Daniel was called on by head coach Brian Katz to replace Dickson.

Daniel had six of the Hornets’ season-high 13 steals in the contest, as well as three blocked shots.

“I just went out there and played hard, plugged holes and just made sure my man didn’t get the ball,” Daniel said.

Junior forward Duro Bjegovic came off the bench to give the best offensive performance of his short Hornet career, scoring 10 points on 4-5 shooting from the floor off the bench. The Hornets shot 52.5 percent as a team on the evening.

It was the third game this season that was decided on the final shot.

Katz said jokingly that the close games might cause him to take a stress test.

“We’ve had three games that went down to the last shot already,” Katz said. “Oregon State had a shot at the buzzer; Riverside had a shot at the buzzer; Davis had a shot at the buzzer – three shots, actually.”

The Hornets had 23 turnovers, including 14 in the second half, as Davis stepped up its defensive intensity. Daniel had a game-high eight of them. Katz said it is something the team needs to work on.

“We just have to adjust and do different things,” he said.

Davis junior guard Mark Payne led the Aggies with 21 points and six rebounds. He had two of the three attempts at the end of the game that did not fall. Senior center Dominic Calegari, who put up 23- and 24-point games in the Aggies’ last two games, was held to four points on 1-8 shooting. However, he did contribute with six assists.

The Hornets, who doubled last season’s win total with the road win, return to the Hornets’ Nest on Saturday, when they host last year’s Big Sky regular season conference champion Weber State at 7:05 p.m. It is Sac State’s first conference game of the season.

Dustin Nosler can be reached at [email protected]