The Sacramento State men’s basketball team closed out the season with a 70-67 win over Idaho State University tonight on a game-winning shot by junior forward Joe Eberhard.

The Hornets were led by Eberhard’s 16 points, five rebounds and the game-winning shot.

Senior forward Heath Hoffman (15 points), sophomore guard Jackson Carbajal (13 points) and junior forward John Dickson (10 points) also finished with double-digit points.

The Hornets trailed the entire game and were down by 13 at one point until the 4:42 mark in the second half when they took a 59-57 lead.

The Hornets and Bengals rallied back and forth until the Bengals hit a shot with eight seconds left to tie things at 67.

The Hornets called a timeout with four seconds left to draw up the game-winning play, and freshman point guard Dylan Garrity said it was a play he has done over and over.

“I was trying to loop around a few screens to get it, but they denied me,” Garrity said. “So (Hoffman) went and got it and then they doubled him. He passed to me on the sideline. I drove toward the middle and got (Eberhard’s) man to come help on my drive and just kicked it to him in the corner. Very simple play that I have made my whole life.”

Eberhard hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to end the Hornets’ four-game losing streak.

“I just floated to the corner, (Garrity) drove and found me,” Eberhard said.

Although the Hornets missed the postseason, their 10 total wins and four road victories were each three more than last year’s totals. The Hornets also finished with one more Big Sky Conference victory than they did last year.

Senior center Josh McCarver and Hoffman played in their final games for the Hornets, and McCarver said winning the last game of his career was the best way to go out.

“It means the world to me,” McCarver said. “Of course I wish we could have won a couple of the games we gave away, but having the taste of victory as the final feeling is the best. I’m sad it’s over, but I’m happy with the way it ended. It’s a great way to spend my last moments with this group of guys.”

Garrity came into the game averaging 7.1 assists per game, but he had only two in the game, dropping his average to 6.9. He ended the season tied with former Hornet Chris Farr for the Hornets’ single-season record for average assists per game.

Despite making history, Garrity said how the team won was the best way to end his freshman season.

“It was the best possible way to end the season without a doubt,” Garrity said. “Not only just the win, it was the way we won. We clawed back through adversity and stabbed them in their hearts at the buzzer on their senior night and on their home floor. Couldn’t have asked for more.”

Josh Stanley can be reached at [email protected].