After two rough losses on the road, Sacramento State looked to bounce back against Division II San Francisco State at Hornet Pavilion on Friday, and bounce back they did.
From the opening tipoff, Sac State was dominant, not backing down for even a second throughout the entire game. With highlight after highlight putting the Hornet Pavilion crowd into a frenzy, Sac State was able to both take care of business and give the fans a show, winning with a final score of 94-46.
Among the defining moments was an alley-oop from junior guard Jahni Summers to sophomore forward Brandon Gardner, with the latter rising over the back of a Gators defender and slamming it home, before hanging on the rim and swinging in the defender’s face.
Two for the price of one
Gardner with 7 of the Hornets’ 15 points! pic.twitter.com/QynFS0jnQp
— Sacramento State Men’s Basketball (@SacHornetsMBB) November 26, 2025
“I feel like that’s pretty much our team, you know? A lot of athletic guys that can play above the rim,” Summers said. “Everyone in the crowd knows what we can do, so it makes the atmosphere static.”
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Summers also had his breakout game for the Hornets, scoring 21 points while shooting 6 for 9 from the 3-point line.
“That’s what we brought him here to do,” head coach Mike Bibby said. “He was shooting with confidence.”
Summers said that he was able to enter a shooting rhythm after seeing his first shot fall, and he carried that momentum throughout the rest of the game.
“I just seen the first shot go in and it just gave me confidence. That’s how I’ve been my whole life,” Summers said. “Whenever I get my opportunity to shoot the ball, just make the shot. Believe that every shot that I shoot is going in.”
Senior guard Prophet Johnson had another standout game for the Hornets, scoring 21 points and grabbing seven rebounds. His most impressive stat, however, was the six steals he picked up during the game.
As a coach who’s been looking to set the tone defensively all season, Bibby said he was happy with the performance and how it inspired his teammates. As a team, the Hornets had 13 steals, the most they’ve had all season.
“You always get hard work from Prophet. I think it kind of rubbed off on [his teammates],” Bibby said. “Watching him be in the passing lanes, making those steals, everybody kind of jumped on the wagon.”
Johnson said that he was just trying to take things slow and play his normal game.
“[I was] honestly just playing the same as usual. I just kind of let everything come to me,” Johnson said. “Whatever happens in the game happens. I just don’t really try to force anything.”
This game was different for the Hornets as they jumped off to a hot start, leaving no chance for the Gators to win this one. In previous games, Sac State is known to start off a bit slow. In four of their last five games, the Hornets finished the first half trailing their opponents.
“The effort was there. In the passing lanes, we made our defense a little bit tougher,” Bibby said. “We were making shots at the beginning, too. It’s a lot easier when you’re knocking down shots.”
Sac State dominated the glass, pulling in 56 boards in comparison to the Gators’ 36. The Hornets were led in the stat by freshman forward Mark Lavrenov, who had his second consecutive start in place of senior forward Jeremiah Cherry, who remains out with injury.
As for the Gators, they struggled to gain any momentum throughout the entire night. Their leading scorer, sophomore guard Fed Pernell, finished with 11 points and six rebounds. They also shot just 23.8% from the field and 14.7% from the three.
The Hornets will travel to Stockton to face the University of the Pacific at the Alex G. Spanos Center on Friday at 7 p.m. The Tigers go into the game with a 5-2 record and on a two-game winning streak.
“It’s gonna be another test for us. They play hard. They’re a good team,” Bibby said. “We’re gonna come in there, try to play our game from the start and see where that takes us.”
