Although the Sacramento State Hornets opened the CBU Classic on Black Friday, they couldn’t buy a win all weekend.

The Chattanooga Mocs stood in between the Hornets and a victorious start to the CBU Classic, hosted by California Baptist University in Riverside, California.

The Hornets jumped on the opportunity to separate themselves early on, building several double-digit leads.

Sophomore guard Rubi Gray contributed heavily to the separation, taking fouls in the paint and staying consistent on finishing layups after the whistle was blown for the foul, getting the and-one buckets.

Complementing Gray’s aggression in the paint, junior guard Natalie Picton premiered the contest making all three of her 3-point shots.

Junior forward Keanna Salave’a chimed in on defense by guarding the rim, keeping her arms up and above the Mocs’ attempts to score in the paint.

Despite the major lead, the Hornets entered the bonus early in the first quarter, making foul trouble unavoidable.

As the clock struck zero in the second quarter, the Hornets looked poised to surmount a landslide victory over the Mocs.

“We were feeling okay,” Gray said. “There were a lot of things we had to clean up, and that was going to be the test coming out at halftime.”

The Hornets unknowingly walked into one of the biggest tests they have seen all season.

As the third quarter trekked on, the Hornets’ offense began to plateau. Along with missed shots, Chattanooga responded with several threes and midrange jumpers, shrinking the margin to two.

Chattanooga was able to get under the rim, snagging offensive boards that led to more scoring.

Head coach Aaron Kallhoff noticed the rebounding discrepancy, yelling to his team from the sideline to box out as the third came to a close. The lead flickered between the two visiting teams, a complete switch from how the first quarter panned out.

A vocal Chattanooga crowd heckled the Hornets as they climbed back to the lead after three trips to the line. Despite the fight, minutes melted into seconds and the Hornets were forced to face the reality that they had one chance left to push the game into overtime.

Inbounding the ball on the Mocs’ side, the Hornets quickly dished the ball to Salave’a. The ball released from her hand, slicing the air and controlling the silence of the crowd as it met the glass and dove through the rim.

“We ran those last minute shots,” Salave’a said. “I passed up a shot against UC Davis, and the coach told me, ‘You’re not passing a shot like that again.’”

As the fans were shocked into silence, Sac State’s bench roared vigorously as their last attempt at tying the game paid off.

With a second left, the game looked like it was going into overtime.

Inbounding the ball, the Mocs reached half court when a collision had players from both sides fall to the floor. Referees called a foul on Picton, granting the Mocs three opportunities to score at the line.

Chattanooga made 2 of 3, giving them the lead. A last-ditch effort was made, but one second wasn’t enough for the Hornets who saw the chance at overtime tick away with the clock, losing 59-57.

“It’s two games in a row that we’ve let slip away from our lack of attention to detail, and it’s frustrating,” Kallhoff said. “I don’t think that call should be made, but you can’t change it.”

Despite the heartbreak, the sun rose on a new day and another opportunity to win in the CBU Classic.

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Playing at noon on Saturday, the Hornets faced the hosting Cal Baptist Lancers.

Planting several threes through the rim, Cal Baptist got to a strong head start and never looked back. CBU stayed laser focused on the threes, sinking them in mismatch, open and contested matchups and running away with the lead.

Attempts at stopping the threes were fruitless, and Cal Baptist further pierced the Hornets on defense, consistently grabbing rebounds for simple putbacks.

The Lancers shot 47% from the field against the Hornets. The shooting frenzy kept the Hornets farther than a lance’s reach, never getting closer than a 12-point margin.

Amidst the mounting lead, freshman guard Jaity Mandaquit blocked the Lancers on a fast break. Mandaquit reached high, blocking the rising ball and coming down hugging the ball tightly in both arms.

Mandaquit, who recently finished playing for the Hornets on the women’s soccer team, joined the team prior to the season and recorded a career-high seven points and four rebounds.

“I knew I had to sprint back and try to get the ball,” Mandaquit said. “There’s moments in the game where I have to remind myself that I can’t kick the ball because there’s times I want to.”

“I’m proud of how our teammates stepped up today,” Vertseeg said. “Jaity did amazing.”

Though there were glimpses of containing the Lancers, the Hornets lacked consistency on both sides of the ball, ending the game with a 92-49 loss.

The Hornets head up north where they’ll visit the University of the Pacific Tigers in Stockton, California, on Thursday, Dec. 3.

“We’re gonna have to establish some stability,” Kallhoff said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We need to work on us.”