After finishing non-conference competition with a 4-8 record, Sacramento State looked to right the ship going into their Big Sky schedule.

The results of their first two conference contests, however, resembled their opening 12. The Hornets fought closely from behind for most of the games, but ran out of stamina at the end.

Jan. 1: Idaho State 97, Sac State 84

As the Hornets entered the ICCU Dome in Pocatello, Idaho, they looked to start the new year off right with a win against Big Sky Conference opponent Idaho State.

Sac State debuted a new starting lineup, seeing the first start of the season for sophomore forward Brandon Gardner in place of freshman forward Mark Lavrenov. The Hornets ultimately suffered an all too familiar fate, letting their opponents pull away late after keeping it close for a majority of the game.

The team also had two of their five bigs unavailable for this game, with senior forward Jeremiah Cherry missing his seventh consecutive game with a knee injury. Sac State still has no timetable for his return. Senior center Davis Ambuehl was also out with an injury and hasn’t made his debut this season.

With 16:05 left in the game, the Hornets were down just two points, 45-43. From that point, the Bengals closed the game on a 52-41 run, ending the game with a final score of 97-84. The Hornets started their final Big Sky campaign 0-1 and extended their losing skid to five games.

“We put ourselves in position at times, but we didn’t execute consistently,” head coach Mike Bibby said. “Missed assignments, turnovers and giving up open looks hurt us, and that has to be cleaned up.”

The Bengal run was spearheaded by four made 3-pointers from sophomore guard Lachlan Brewer, who transferred to Idaho State after spending his freshman season with the Hornets. Brewer finished with 18 points, all in the second half.

Sophomore guard Mikey Williams shined despite the loss, scoring a career-high 34 points on an efficient 13-of-23 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 from deep. Outside of Williams, the Hornets struggled to find any real flow on the offensive end.

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The rest of the team shot a combined 13 for 40 from the field and just 2 for 12 from the 3-point line. Twenty-two of the 50 non-Williams points came from the free-throw line.

Free throws were a major part of the game for both teams, with a season-high 37 free throws from the Hornets and an additional 27 from the Bengals. The two teams also had a combined 47 total fouls in the game, 23 from Sac State and the remaining 24 from Idaho State.

The Hornets had three other players reach double-digit scoring, with senior guard Prophet Johnson, Lavrenov and sophomore guard Arman Madi scoring 14, 12 and 10, respectively. Johnson and Madi were both close to posting double-doubles as well, pulling in nine boards each.

On the side of Idaho State, graduate point guard Jamison Guerra led the way with a season-high 24 points, including four 3-pointers and eight free throws. He was one of three Bengals to make four 3-pointers, with both Brewer and graduate forward Connor Hollenbeck sinking the same amount.

Bengals senior forward Caleb Van De Griend finished the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds, with the latter leading all players from both teams. The Hornets have been outrebounded in every game of their current losing streak due to their lack of size after Cherry’s injury.

Jan. 3: Weber State 95, Sac State 82

Sac State continued their three-game road trip to start their Big Sky campaign against Weber State on Saturday, Jan. 3 The Wildcats started their conference play with a 95-90 overtime loss to Portland State.

With both teams looking to capture their first Big Sky win, the Hornets got started quickly with a 3-pointer from junior guard Jahni Summers within the opening 16 seconds, his only shot attempt of the game. This lead was short-lived, as Wildcats junior forward Viljami Vartiainen almost immediately equaled the score at three.

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The Wildcats caught fire shortly after, connecting on their first five 3-pointers of the game. Four of them came from Vartiainen, who ended the game with 20 points. This was Vartiainen’s fourth 20-point game of his collegiate career, all of which were against Sac State.

The 3-0 lead the Hornets held after the first possession was their last lead of the game, and they spent the rest of the game following the Wildcats’ tracks. They were able to slightly close the gap a couple of times but were never able to catch up, losing by a final score of 95-82.

“I liked our fight in the second half, and I liked that we didn’t fold,” Bibby said. “But effort alone isn’t enough. We’ve got to turn that competitiveness into stops, rebounds and cleaner possessions for 40 minutes.”

Williams played every minute of the game and led the Hornets in scoring for the second straight game with 26 points. This also marks the first time Williams has posted 25-point performances in consecutive games, emerging as a consistent source of offense for Sac State.

Lavrenov played a solid game off the bench, recording 12 points and four rebounds. His point total was matched by sophomore guard Jayden Teat, who shot 3-of-7 from three, good for 42.9%.

Following the game against Weber State, Sac State saw their road record fall to 0-9, including six straight. With seven away games still on the horizon, the Hornets need to figure out how to win outside of Hornet Pavilion.

“This is part of learning how to win on the road. You’ve got to value the ball, get back in transition and take pride in guarding,” Bibby said. “Until we do that consistently, these environments are going to be tough for us.”

The Wildcats had two 20-point scorers in the contest, junior guard Tijan Saine Jr. and Vartiainen. Saine Jr. is the leading scorer for Weber State, with the display against the Hornets being his fourth game scoring 20 or more this season and his third in his last four games.

Sac State ends their seven-game road trip in Oregon, traveling to take on the Portland State Vikings on Saturday, Jan. 10. Portland State stands undefeated in Big Sky play, beating both Weber State and Idaho State to start their conference schedule.

“I believe in this group. Nights like this hurt, but they also show us the standard we have to meet,” Bibby said. “If we respond the right way in practice and carry that into the next game, this one can still help us down the line.”