Off of a four-game losing streak where they only lost by seven points or less each game, the head coach of the Sacramento State men’s basketball team Brandon Laird wanted to see his team be rewarded for their hard work.

In a nail-biting 61-60 victory over Idaho State at The Nest Thursday, the Hornets finally saw their effort pay off.

“I’m most happy about the guys in the locker room, they never buckled, they stayed consistent,”  Laird said. “Every game is hard and every opponent at this level is really good and every win is a really good win.”

The Hornets (6-10 2-7 Big Sky) began this matchup with the Bengals (3-15, 1-9 Big Sky) with exuberant energy, getting out to an early 10-0 run before the first timeout.

Junior guard Zach Chappell, who came into Thursday evening averaging 20 points over his past four games, led the way as an early spark for Sac State on offense. Chappell was knocking down spot-up threes, creating off the dribble, and aggressively attacking the rim, putting a ton of pressure on the Bengal defense from the jump.

“Man, it’s so easy for me,” Chappell said. “We’ve just been chipping away, chipping away, figuring things out. We’re getting closer and closer and closer and then today it turned out in our favor.”

For Sac State, the story was about how fluid the offense seemed to be as a team, which had been one of the concerns coming into tonight’s matchup.

Though they didn’t shoot the ball the most efficiently,, the Hornets were able to get a lot of good looks and run a scheme that allowed other guys besides the usuals – Chappell and senior forward Bryce Fowler- to flourish.

One of those players  was sophomore forward Cameron Wilbon, who finished with a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds

“’I’m extremely confident in myself,” Wilbon said. “My teammates, my coaches, my family, they instill confidence in me every time I step on the court.”

The offense seemed to be clicking in the first 20 minutes for the Hornets, as they had a 29-25 lead going into half-time, but the Bengals found a way to slow them down in the next period.

Idaho State began stringing together multiple stops in the second half and put a ton of pressure on Fowler to make tough shots that he just couldn’t finish, as he shot 4-13 in the evening.

All of a sudden at the 16-minute mark in the second half, the Bengals were able to get their first lead of the game. From this point on the matchup was a back-and-forth slugfest between the two teams trying to prevent themselves from earning the worst record in the Big Sky standings.

After a series of runs that saw the Hornets and Bengals make big shots, the final two minutes was where the game-defining chaos broke loose. After leading for a 10-minute stretch, the Bengals snatched back the lead for a second time with one minute and five seconds remaining.

Sac State and Idaho State each shared a possession before the Hornets got the ball one last time with 11.3 seconds remaining, down by just one point.

With their final chance to score, the Hornets came out of a timeout and put the ball in the hands of Bryce Fowler who was doubled on a drive to the basket. Fowler was able to pull off a savvy bounce pass to Wilbon cutting back-door. 

Just as Wilbon was going up to finish through the Idaho State contact for a potential game-winning shot, the layup was blocked – that was until a late whistle was heard.

Goaltend.

With just 1.7 seconds remaining, Sac State was able to take 61-60 lead because of a goaltending call. Idaho State was able to draw up a final play and even get off a shot in that remaining span of time, but it missed, icing the victory for the Hornets.

“There’s something to be said about learning how to win,” said Laird. “This team needs the experience of learning how to win, and I hope tonight gives us a step forward in that direction.”

Sac State’s next game is Saturday, Jan. 29 against Weber State in the Nest at 7:00 p.m.