Sac State men’s basketball team dismantled in 73-65 loss to Portland State

Turnovers kill Hornets’ early momentum

Sac+State+senior+guard+William+FitzPatrick+attempts+to+take+a+Portland+State+defender+off+the+dribble+Saturday%2C+Feb.+5%2C+2022%2C+at+Viking+Pavilion.+FitzPatrick+finished+with+12+points+as+the+Hornets+suffered+their+second+defeat+to+the+Vikings+this+season+in+a+73-65+loss.+%0A

Larry Lawson/PSU athletics

Sac State senior guard William FitzPatrick attempts to take a Portland State defender off the dribble Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, at Viking Pavilion. FitzPatrick finished with 12 points as the Hornets suffered their second defeat to the Vikings this season in a 73-65 loss.

Jordan Latimore

The Sacramento State men’s basketball team lost its third straight game Saturday in a 73-65 defeat against Portland State at  Viking Pavilion.

The Hornets (6-13, 2-10 Big Sky) opened things up on an offensive roll against the Vikings (8-13, 6-7 Big Sky), with senior forward Bryce Fowler and senior guard William FitzPatrick leading the charge early.

Fowler and FitzPatrick scored a combined 18 points in the first half as they were able to shoulder the load for Sac State, who had a 20-15 lead over Portland State around the nine-minute mark in the first half. 

“We were playing at our pace controlling the tempo,” said FitzPatrick about the Hornets’ early offensive success. “Portland State is a team that wants to seed you up. When you don’t let that happen, you get any shot you want, and that’s where we were to start the first half.”

Just as it appeared that the Hornets were finding their stride against a team that had previously embarrassed them at home last month, the Vikings started creating havoc on defense due to their on-ball pressure which forced Sac State to loosen their grip on control of this game.

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On the season, Sac State averaged just 12.5 turnovers coming into Saturday’s outing with Portland State. 

They finished the first half with 15 and proceeded with a total collapse to end the closing minutes of the period.

In the final eight minutes of the first half, Portland State went on to outscore the Hornets 20-10 primarily from steals, giving the Vikings a 35-30 lead going into halftime. 

“The majority of our turnovers were unforced, which is very disappointing,” Fowler said. “Especially after having only four turnovers against Weber a couple games ago.”

Despite their sloppiness closing out the first 20 minutes, the Hornets only found themselves down five heading into the locker room, and they came out in the second half showing more flashes of offensive synergy.

After two quick buckets from Fowler, junior guard Zach Chappell splashed a jumper to give the Hornets a 37-36 lead at the 17-minute mark.

Though Sac State saw some of the same early offensive success in the second half as they did in the first, they saw a repeat of the issues that dug their graves in another deficit – more turnovers. 

Sac State went on to turn the ball over an additional nine more times in the second half, inflating life into a very fast Portland State squad that fielded their runs in transition. Even though the Hornets were able to lean heavily on Fowler’s 21-point evening to keep the matchup relatively close, Portland State quickly began to pull away.

In what looked like a blur, the Hornets found themselves down by 12 with under five minutes remaining, and the Vikings cruised to their second win against Sac State this season.

“You gotta give credit to their ability to pressure and deny,” said interim head coach Brandon Laird. “They’re a really good pressure team.”

The Hornets’ next game is Thursday, Feb.10 at home in the Nest against Northern Colorado.