Winning has come full circle for Sacramento State men’s basketball. 

The Hornets won seven out of their last eight games to move into a three-way tie for third place in the Big Sky Conference after they recently disassembled the University of Northern Colorado, Saturday at The Nest, 79-58.

Northern Colorado was the same opponent one month ago that head coach Brian Katz challenged his players and asked a simple question. 

“I told my players that (Northern Colorado) is the standard because they are tougher than everybody else,” Katz said. “Can’t we be tougher than everybody else?”

Before that game, the Hornets were coasting on the bottom of the Big Sky standings with a 2-5 record, averaging 65.5 points per game and leading scorer junior guard Mikh McKinney had only scored more than 20 points twice on the season.

Over the last nine games, Sac State has improved its offense, scoring 74.7 points per game. McKinney has also scored 20 or more points in four out of the nine games and has averaged 17.3 points in conference play.

“I’ve never had a guy at Sac State that could put up these kinds of numbers,” Katz said. “He is a dynamic player and he is really tough.”

Sac State started the game in early foul trouble from their post players junior Alex Tiffin and senior Jordan Salley, but went on a 9-0 run over a five-and-a-half minute stretch that gave the Hornets an 18-12 lead.

A pair of layups by freshmen Nick Hornsby and Eric Stuteville pushed the Hornets’ lead to 11 points as they entered halftime. Stuteville had seven points and six rebounds and was on the way to the first double double of the his career.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself because I want to get better and I want to get stronger,” Stuteville said. “One day I’d like to get to the next level.”

All season, Northern Colorado has out-rebounded their opponents, including Big 12 school Kansas State, but Katz challenged his players to win the rebounding battle.

“I told the guys that there is no chance (of winning) if you don’t win the ball count tonight,” Katz said. “Every guy stepped up and they fought and strapped for every rebound.”

His team responded with more rebounds than the Bears in the second half, led by Stuteville’s 12 rebounds and McKinney’s 11 rebounds. Both players received a double double by adding 14 points and 29 points, respectively. 

Both players were the first to receive a double double in points and rebounds since sophomore guard Cody Demps accomplished that feat during the second game of the season at CSU Bakersfield. 

Sac State now travels to its last conference road trip of the season as they face Weber State Thursday. 

Since Hornets’ point guard Dylan Garrity made his 75-foot shot against the Wildcats three weeks ago, Weber State has gone 4-2 in conference play. Katz said Weber State is going to be ready to play.

Tipoff is at 6:05 p.m.

Ryan can be reached on Twitter at @rskuhn