The Sacramento State men’s basketball team came out on the losing end of a physical basketball game Saturday night at the Nest.

The Hornets were looking for their fifth straight win in Big Sky Conference play but came up short to the University of Montana Grizzlies 67-58. Match up problems across the floor plagued the Hornets all night long.

“Matchups weren’t great for us, I looked at it and this was the one team in the league that could really create mix match-ups for us,” said Sac State head coach Brian Katz.

The Hornets played a majority of the game with a smaller lineup, using three guards and two forwards to try to match up Montana’s athleticism.

“We knew we could go small and still be fine. Some of our bigs had fouls and we’re already kind of thin with bigs. So us being able to go small works well,” said junior forward Joe Eberhard.

The Hornets hit nine-of-26 field goals, five-of-12 3-pointers and seven-of-10 free throws in the first half of Saturday night’s game. The first half ended with successful ball movement by the Hornets, leading to a buzzer-beating 2-point jumper in the corner by senior forward Heath Hoffman to put the Hornets up 30-25.

The physicality level increased in the second half of the game as both teams turned up the intensity. The referees made their presence known with an abundance of calls with the majority in favor of the Grizzlies.

After a foul called on the Hornets, coach Katz yelled at one referee to remind him the game was not being played in Montana, resulting in a technical foul for Katz and two extra free-throws.

“I think everyone always feels like the refs missed a few of them, but I think, being truthful, we were our biggest enemy because we didn’t get inside as much as we needed to and we didn’t go up to when we had opportunities,” Katz said.

The Grizzlies used their athleticism and size to pressure the Hornets with full court press on the inbound and forced turnovers with half court traps as soon as guards crossed mid-court.

“We’ve seen more athletic teams than them; I think they’re just the most disciplined and a smart team, so any little mistake you make they take advantage of it,” Eberhard said.

The Hornets committed 17 total turnovers in the game and the Grizzlies converted those turnovers into 14 points.

“I thought we got a little bit of panic in us at first and when we got to the middle we didn’t convert on it,” Katz said. “But make no mistake, they do a great a job of having back flow, being extended, recovering and guarding you inside out and we struggled.”

The Hornets attempted to rally back late in the second half, drawing within five points of Montana after junior center Konner Veteto knocked down a 2-point jumper from the free throw line with just under five minutes to play in the game.

The only block of the game for the Hornets came during a pivotal point late in the second half when Veteto blocked 7-foot tall Derek Selvig’s shot out of bounds and brought the fans to their feet.

The blocked shot was followed by a technical foul called on Veteto for taunting Selvig afterward. Montana shot a pair of free throws, controlled the ball and ultimately won as the Grizzlies were able to convert their free throws down the stretch and hold the Hornets off.

JJ Williams can be reached at [email protected].