The Sacramento State men’s basketball team finished the season with a loss to Northern Colorado University Saturday night, 78-66.

Northern Colorado came onto the court strong, taking a 17-9 lead with less than 15 minutes to play in the first half. The Hornets trailed behind the entire game, getting no closer than four points.

The Bears shot 55.3 percent from the field, 53.3 percent from the three-point line and 78.3 percent from the free-throw line.

The Hornets shot 42.6 percent from the field. Although Sac State was outrebounded 34-26, the team was able to score 21 points off 18 of the Bears turnovers.

Senior guard Antonio Flaggs said even though they played well on defense it wasn’t enough.

“We had a rough game,” Flaggs said. “We played well defensively but we could have knocked down some more shots.”

Senior guard Mike Marcial said even though they lost they took what head coach Brian Katz taught them into consideration and play their hardest.

“It wasn’t what we wanted,” Marcial said. “But all we could do was play hard like Coach Katz taught us to play. It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t come out with a win.”

Eller ended his final game as a Hornet with a career-high 25 points, and made five of six from the free throw line. Junior forward Duro Bjegovic finished with 10 points and four rebounds. Junior guard Sultan Toles-Bey had eight points and four rebounds, and freshman wing John Dickson finished with six points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

Eller said although the Hornet’s record was not that great, he was still proud of how hard the team worked this year.

“I was really proud of our team this season,” Eller said. “We played so hard. We had a couple of tough breaks but we just kept pushing through it and even though we may have lost a few games I think we still had a good season.”

After graduation, Eller is going to be in the credential program here at Sac State to become a teacher and a coach.

The final game concluded the basketball careers at Sac State of seniors Eller, Domineek Daniel, Flaggs, Jonathan Malloy, Marcial, Michael Selling, and Stigall.

Toles-Bey, Dickson, Bjegovic, freshman guard Brad Johnstin, and freshman center Dani Lopez will be returning for next season. Redshirts Alpha N’Diaye and Walter Jackson will be playing next year as well.

Daniel said the loss was unfortunate but he still valued it since it was the last time he would be playing on the court with his team.

“We didn’t win, but the main thing is you just got to cherish the last moment with your teammates and just have fun together since it’s your last time together on the court,” he said.

Eller said the team played hard in its final game.

“A lot of the young guys got in and got some time and the seniors played as hard as they could for the full 40 minutes,” Eller said. “So, we have to be proud of that even though we lost.”

With the loss, the Hornets finished with a 9-21 record, which was a seven-game improvement over last season’s record, 2-27.

Ashley O’Con can be reached at [email protected]