Sacramento State’s regular season finale was their last chance to pick up a win before the Big Sky Conference tournament, but they were unable to come in clutch again in a narrow loss against Portland State.
The Hornets fell 56-59 to the Vikings in a game where offense was hard to come by as the Hornets shot a measly 34% from the field.
Sac State’s defense set the tone early in the game, making timely rotations and not allowing a single Portland State basket in the first five minutes of play.
Defense turned into offense for the Hornets, scoring 11 points off Portland State’s seven first-half giveaways en route to a 19-7 lead at the 12 minute mark.
Portland State opened up a step behind Sac State, but dragged them down to their level by mucking up their offensive game plan and forcing a 6-minute Sac State scoring drought and going on 13-0 run.
The Vikings forced nine first-half turnovers for 11 points to take a 20-19 lead. With 7 minutes left in the half.
Baskets became a rarity for Sac State, but sophomore guard Michael Wilson staved off Portland State’s run by knocking down timely jumpers. Wilson helped Sac State take a 35-34 lead into the locker room.
“I was able to find offense by trusting my coaches’ plan and attack the gaps the defense was giving us,” Wilson said. “We fought hard, but we just weren’t able to get it done.”
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The Hornets left their physical defense in the locker room while the Vikings opened up the second half by slashing through the Hornets’ frontcourt for 14 paint points in the first six minutes of the second half.
Portland State couldn’t expand on their newfound 48-40 lead as the valley of baskets dried up for both teams, culminating in multiple scoring droughts midway through the final period.
With four minutes left Portland State held a 5-point lead, but with crunchtime approaching senior guard EJ Neal was ready to answer the call.
Coming off of a missed free throw by Portland State, freshman guard Leo Ricketts found Neal on the wing, who drew a foul on a 3-point attempt to bring Sac State within a point with 2 minutes remaining.
Three possessions later Neal came up with a steal and found senior forward Jacob Holt beyond the arc. Holt was fouled on his 3-point attempt and knocked down two of his three attempts to remain down by one with 37 seconds to go.
As the clock wound down, Portland State senior guard Jaylin Henderson drove to the basket, but was met with authority as Neal came from the weak side to send his shot into the stands.
Neal had given the Hornets life, but they were unable to capitalize on their final possession. As time wound down Holt fired a game-winning attempt from deep that bounced off the rim into the hands of Ricketts, whose last second prayer also fell short.
PROTECTED. HOME. COURT. @psuviksMBB goes a perfect 9-0 at home in Big Sky Conference play #ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/zL3dMcfPDv
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) March 4, 2025
“Just keep making the next play, whether it’s big or small,” Neal said about the Hornets’ inability to close games. “They add up, and I think that would give us the edge at the end of these games.”
Sac State ended their tumultuous regular season on a 4-game losing streak, but they have one more chance to turn things around in the Big Sky Conference tournament.
“We’ve got to keep getting better at our team concepts,” Sac State head coach Michael Czepil said. “Tonight we did a good job defensively. Offensively, we’ll keep growing and working through however many games we have left.”
Sac State heads to Boise for a win or go home matchup against Weber State in the Big Sky tournament on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
