A season that’s been full of shortcomings and disappointing losses continued Thursday as Sacramento State failed once more to add a game to the win column.
In the first matchup of a four game stint on the road, the Hornets failed to keep up with their opponent’s offensive output, losing 58-70 to the Montana State Bobcats.
Sac State was able to find points early, cashing in on three free throws on their first possession of the game. The ensuing flurry of points indicated that the momentum from their 21-8 run to end their previous game against Weber State had traveled with them to Bozeman, but the offensive surge was short-lived.
It wasn’t long before the Hornets’ offense stagnated, not getting a shot off until late in the shot clock for consecutive possessions in the first half.
An outbreak of turnovers reared its head, as Sac State gave the ball away eight times in the first half and 15 times total. Sac State head coach Michael Czepil pointed to turnovers as a major reason for his team’s lackluster offense.
“Live ball turnovers were the issue,” Czepil said. “[We] need to be tougher with the ball, particularly on the road.”
Montana State took full advantage of the Hornets’ miscues, going on a run of their own to take a 9-point lead midway through the first half. The Bobcats finished the game with 22 points off of Sac State turnovers.
An inability to keep the ball didn’t bury Sac State completely. Junior guard Julian Vaughns took matters into his own hands and scored three consecutive 3-pointers to bring the Hornets back to within five points, making it a 24-29 contest.
They remained within 10 points of the Bobcats for the majority of the game, clawing their way back to grab a 39-36 lead at the start of the second half.
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However, after taking the lead Sac State had no answer for the Bobcat offense, allowing them to cash in on their next six shot attempts. Montana State began to run away with the game, hitting timely shots to expand their lead to double digits to seal the game.
The lack of depth that has plagued Sac State revealed its significance, leaving Czepil with few options off the bench to answer.
“Hopefully we can get some guys back here soon from injury and illness to help with the rotation,” Czepil said. “We are three starters down which has definitely impacted minutes here.”
Only two players from Sac State’s bench were able to find baskets, freshman forward Chudi Dioramma and sophomore guard Michael Wilson. The pair combined for five points, which pales in comparison to Montana State’s 22 bench points.
The starters, who all played big minutes, could not sustain scoring with volume, giving the Bobcats the edge down the stretch of the game.
The Hornets failed to make this game competitive in crunchtime, but Czepil praised his players for the effort when the game felt out of reach.
“We do think the guys are playing with pretty good effort,” Czepil said. “We just need to keep learning how to win these games down the stretch.”
The Hornets look to end their two-game losing streak on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Montana.
