The Sacramento State men’s basketball team lost its second game of the season on Saturday afternoon at Santa Clara, 60-58. 

Sac State (6-2) sought an unprecedented 7-1 start to the season following a 62-59 road victory over Cal State Fullerton last Saturday. 

Santa Clara (10-2) entered the game having won six of its last seven games. The Broncos had also won 11 home games in a row dating back to last season. 

Facing an early 4-2 deficit three minutes into the game, Sac State’s offense caught fire. 

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A 3-pointer from senior forward Chibueze Jacobs capped an 8-0 run and gave the Hornets a 10-4 lead with 13:29 left in the first half. 

That fire was quickly extinguished by the Broncos, who answered with a big run of their own. 

Santa Clara turned a six-point deficit into a 10-point lead with a 17-1 run. The Broncos’ defense held the Sac State offense scoreless for five straight minutes. 

The Hornets committed six turnovers and shot 3-15 from the field during the first 13 minutes of the game and trailed 21-11 with 6:51 remaining in the first half. 

Back-to-back 3-pointers from junior guard Bryce Fowler and Jacobs cut the lead to 21-17. Sac State would tie the game at 23 after a Fowler 3-pointer with 4:20 to go in the first half. 

Fowler received his first start of the season after senior guard Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa did not play due to injury. 

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A layup and made free throw from sophomore guard Brandon Davis with 00.1 left in the half capped a 13-4 run for the Hornets. Sac State led 36-31 at halftime. 

The Hornets scored the first points of the second half after a made layup from junior forward Ethan Esposito to took a 38-31 lead. This would be the last of Sac State’s scoring for the next 10 minutes. 

Santa Clara took control of the game from this point on. An 8-0 Bronco run gave Santa Clara a 39-38 lead four minutes into the half. 

The Broncos extended the run to 14-0 and led 45-38 with 8:46 left in the game. 

Santa Clara kept the lead until the final minute of the game. 

Down by three, Sac State freshman guard Elijah McCullough drilled a 3-pointer off a pass from Davis to tie the game. 

Santa Clara regained the lead and led by two with 40 seconds to play before Sac State tied the game with two made free throws from Fowler with 24 seconds left in the game. 

After a timeout, the Broncos drew up a play for their sophomore guard Trey Wertz, who made the game-winning layup with three seconds left on the clock. 

A missed layup as time expired from Davis ended the Hornets’ two-game winning steak and gave Santa Clara a 60-58 win. 

Davis led the Hornets in scoring with 14 points. Fowler, Jacobs and senior center Joshua Patton all finished with 10 points.

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Sac State returns to the Nest on Wednesday when they host Cal Poly at 7:05 p.m.