From a nine-game losing streak to a two-game winning streak, the Hornets are back to their winning ways.

The Sacramento State men’s basketball team (7-14, 2-8) took down the University of Northern Colorado (7-14, 4-6) on the road Thursday night, 73-62.

“Coach (Katz) made a big emphasis on coming out with bite,” senior center Josh McCarver said. “We came out and attacked hard and did our best to not let up and things stayed in our favor.”

The win was the Hornets’ first in Greeley, Colo., in six years and their second Big Sky Conference win and second road win of the season.

The Hornets were led by freshman point guard Dylan Garrity who had a team-high 16 points and nine assists, which raises his season assist average to 6.5.

Sophomore guard Jackson Carbajal (11 points) and junior forward Joe Eberhard (14 points) were also in double-digit points and senior center Josh McCarver made an impact on the glass with nine rebounds, three offensive, in just 19 minutes of action.

“I was just trying to stay aggressive like my coach emphasized,” McCarver said. “My teammates did a good job of blocking out their men and I was fortunate enough to have rebounds fall my way when they came off of the rim.”

The Hornets led from the 17:22 mark in the first half to the final buzzer.

After starting the game down 3-0, the Hornets rolled to a 24-8 lead on their way to a second consecutive win.

The Hornets’ offensive attack was clicking on almost every possession, as they would either score on the first shot or at the line, from which they were 17-for-22.

The Hornets were 25-of-50 from the field and Garrity said shot selection was the key to their success.

“I think we just took good shots the whole game, ran our offense well and they just couldn’t guard us,” Garrity said.

The biggest factor that led to the Hornets’ commanding lead all game was the poor free throw shooting by Northern Colorado, which was 11-for-28 from the line.

McCarver said the Bears’ 39 percent performance from the charity stripe was a key to the outcome of the game.

“We had a lot of silly fouls that could have made the game have a completely different tone,” McCarver said. “I think their struggle from the line hurt their confidence a little bit as well.”

The Hornets will stay on the road to take on Eastern Washington University on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.

The Hornets and Eagles last met on Jan. 12 when the Eagles beat the Hornets 65-60.

The Hornets will look to make it three straight wins and Garrity said the current two-game winning streak is helping the team in all the right ways.

“It does wonders for our confidence without a doubt,” Garrity said. “ Now we all know what we can do once we play how we are supposed to play. We believe we can beat anyone who stands in our way when we play like that.”