Sacramento State men’s basketball carried out one of the most monumental wins in program history by beating top-seeded Eastern Washington 74-69 in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament on Sunday.
The Hornets led nearly the whole game, and trailed for just over a minute.
Sac State opened the contest on a 17-7 run and didn’t surrender their lead in the entire first half.
The Hornets kept the Eagles at bay all night and had an answer anytime the regular season champs made a run.
Junior guard Zee Hamoda played the most pivotal role in the Hornets’ win, notching a team-high 19 points and going a perfect 5-of-5 from three.
Many of Hamoda’s triples served as momentum killers for the Eagles. However, none were as big as his sweeping layup with under two minutes remaining, which gave the Hornets a 70-63 lead and put the game on ice.
“We came into this game with a winning mindset,” Hamoda said. “At home we only lost by three and we really thought we could win if we came together.”
There were moments during this tournament where the Hornets struggled to score field goals, but their efficient free throw shooting provided stability for their offense.
The Hornets were a season-high 26-of-33 from the foul line, making them a combined 48-of-58 in Starch Madness.
Senior forward Akol Mawein accounted for 14 of those 48, most of which have come at crucial moments.
Mawein has been everything and more for Sac State during these pair of wins. After scoring a career-high 25 points, he contributed 17 points and acted as the Hornets’ second leading scorer against the Eagles.
“We slowly came together through our losses and found ways to make our big mistakes smaller,” said Mawein. “I think the biggest change has been in our mentality.”
Following Sac State’s narrow loss to Eastern Washington a week ago, Sac State head coach David Patrick said the reason they lost was because of rebounding, taking care of the basketball and defending.
The Hornets won the rebound battle 34-27 on Sunday, had two less turnovers than the Eagles and played remarkable defense.
Sac State held the fourth best shooting team in the nation to 40% from the field, 23% from three and forced 15 Eagle turnovers, which they scored 23 points from.
“You can’t give them the same look every time defensively,” Patrick said. “We tried to mix it up a lot and I thought it helped us and I think ours guys battled.”
Freshman guard Bailey Nunn has been phenomenal for the Hornets lately and he continued to be with 11 points off the bench and a game-high +14, while governing Sac State’s offense.
He was also an absolute pest on the defensive end, and although he only ended with two steals, Nunn was constantly interrupting passing lanes and wrecking havoc. Junior guard Austin Patterson added three steals as well.
Sac State has been able to avoid the ebbs and flows that had plagued them throughout the year, leading to success in the tournament so far.
In many games this year, Sac State had been on the wrong side of defining moments, but now they’ve flipped the script.
“Our guys have never hung their head and they’ve come back to work every day,” Patrick said. “They’ve stuck together and haven’t pointed fingers and it leads to this.”
Sac State will play the winner of Weber State vs. Montana State in the semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
