After a two-and-a-half-week stretch with zero games for Sacramento State, the team made the trip down to Riverside to take on California Baptist University at the Fowler Events Center on Saturday, Dec. 20.
The odds were not in the Hornets’ favor going into this one, as they had a record of 0-5 on the road entering the competition. The Lancers were undefeated on their home floor, having the inverse record of 5-0.
The game was a nail-biter through and through, with neither team creating real separation from the other. Sac State led for most of the first half, but CBU took a lead, with just under five minutes left in the half, that they didn’t relinquish for the rest of the game, ending the game 74-67 in favor of the Lancers.
Two of the Hornets’ top players, senior guard Prophet Johnson and senior forward Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry, were sidelined due to injury against the Lancers, which resulted in freshman guard Taj Glover getting his first start of the season.
The largest divider in the game was seen at the free-throw line, with the Hornets getting just six attempts from the charity stripe compared to the Lancers’ 30.
“Some guys stepped up, but it was getting hard to win the game with a free throw discrepancy like that,” head coach Mike Bibby said.
In the absence of their two leading scorers, the Hornets relied heavily on sophomore guard Mikey Williams to carry the load on offense. Williams scored 18 points to go with five assists but shot just 7 for 23 from the field.
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Spearheading Sac State in points was junior guard Jahni Summers, who was good for 21 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Summers was a flamethrower for the Hornets, connecting on six of his eight 3-point attempts.
“[Summers] shot the ball well, and he shot it with confidence,” Bibby said. “We need to have guys that knock down shots.”
Sac State had trouble converting on their attempts, shooting 26 for 71 from the field, leaving them with a percentage of 36.6%. The Hornets attempted 14 more field goals than the Lancers yet ended up losing by seven points.
“[We had] little mental breakdowns here and there,” Bibby said. “We shoot 14 more shots than [CBU] and still end up losing the game, that’s unheard of.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Hornets were effectively forcing turnovers in the opening period, pressuring the Lancers to give away possession eight times. They also limited the scoring of graduate Lancers guard Dominique Daniels Jr., who was held to 11 points after scoring 30 or more in his three previous games.
In place of Daniels’ dominant offense, the Lancers had an all-around scoring game, with four different players posting double-digit points. Leading CBU was senior guard Martel Williams, who had 14 points.
The headline player for the Lancers in the contest was junior forward Thomas Ndong, who scored 12 points and led all players in the game in rebounds with 17.
Sac State will continue their stay in the Los Angeles area to face CSU Northridge on Monday at 7 p.m. The game at the Premier America Credit Union Arena is the last for the Hornets before they begin their final Big Sky campaign on Jan. 1, 2026.
