The Sacramento State men’s basketball team suffered a crucial blow to its postseason hopes after losing 85-67 to Portland State University Wednesday night.

With only two Big Sky games remaining, the Hornets are now two games out of the sixth and final spot in the Big Sky tournament.

In order for the Hornets to make the postseason, they will need to win both of their remaining Big Sky games and have Eastern Washington University and the University of Northern Colorado lose all of their remaining Big Sky games to force a three-way tie.

The Hornets came into Wednesday’s game winners of four of their last five games, but senior center Josh McCarver said they simply played like a different team tonight.

“We had absolutely no aggression,” McCarver said. “We came here and did not come to play. It’s disappointing given our recent success, but I assure you we will be ready to play for the remainder of our games.”

The first five minutes of the game were close and the Vikings only held an 11-6 lead, but the next five minutes were a different story and they pulled out to a 24-9 lead.

The closest the Hornets got after that was 35-22, but the Vikings ended the half on a 14-0 run. 

The Hornets did outscore the Vikings 45-36 in the second half and ended the game on a 13-6 run, but it was not enough to mount any comeback and the Hornets ended up losing their 10th Big Sky game of the season.

The Vikings defense was too much for the Hornets all game and they forced 11 turnovers. Freshman point guard Dylan Garrity was not happy with his performance.

“We turned the ball over way too many times in the beginning and that’s 100 percent my fault,” Garrity said. “I was very careless with the ball and just made some stupid passes that I normally wouldn’t make. I’m very upset with how I played and I guarantee that I will be ready for them next time.”

The Hornets will get another shot at the Vikings Feb. 23 at home.

“I don’t want to discredit (Portland State) and how they played, but I feel the game was 100 percent on us and how we played,” McCarver said. “We were not sharp on offense or defense and made them look like all-stars. We have to get ready for (San Jose State University) on Saturday, but as soon as that game is over we will grind hard at practice for the next time we see them. Everyone has a very bitter taste in their mouth because we played so short of our potential. We know we are a better team than that.”

The Hornets’ non-conference game with San Jose State is on Saturday at The Nest. Tip-off is at 7:05 p.m.

Josh Stanley can be reached at [email protected].