Sacramento State had their final chances to win a game on the road during a Montana road trip, taking on the Montana Grizzlies and the Montana State Bobcats.

After squandering both, the Hornets have just one more game until Starch Madness, a home game against Idaho State.This means that Sac State finished their regular season 0-16 in away games.

Feb. 26: Montana 81, Sac State 73

The first game of Sac State’s two-game Montana trip was against the Grizzlies, a rematch after their original matchup that was the highest attended on-campus basketball game in Sac State history.

Montana came in looking for revenge and controlled the game from the opening tip until the final buzzer. The game ended with an 81-73 Grizzlies victory, and Sac State fell to a 5-11 record in the Big Sky Conference.

The Hornets closed in on an early 13-2 deficit and kept the game close until the end, but were unable to make the final push to take the lead and be on the front foot.

“I was proud of how our guys kept competing. We cut it to a one or two possession game and didn’t fold,” head coach Mike Bibby said. “That shows growth, but we’ve got to put together a full 40 minutes.”

Sac State had a balanced scoring quartet, with senior guard Prophet Johnson, freshman guard Taj Glover, sophomore guard Arman Madi and senior forward Shaqir O’Neal all reaching double-digit points.

The biggest difference in this game was the efficiency of scoring between the teams. The Grizzlies hit 11 threes on 29 attempts, while the Hornets connected on just five of their 20.

That 5-for-20 puts them at 25% on the night, and combining that with their overall field goal shooting of 27-for-67 makes a shooting performance that the Hornets would like to forget.

Grizzlies senior guard Money Williams led the game in scoring with 20 points. He was effectively reaching the free-throw line, and put up 10 attempts from the charity stripe.

Williams wasn’t the sole standout performer from Montana, however. Graduate forward Te’Jon Sawyer, who had 31 points in his last game against Sac State, posted an 11-point and 12-rebound double-double.

Bibby stressed the importance of finding their groove at the right time, with the conference tournament quickly approaching.

“This time of year, it’s about toughness and attention to detail. We’re right there, but right there isn’t good enough,” Bibby said. “Our focus has to be sharper from the opening tip, especially in these conference road games.”

Sac State had just one day of rest before making a three-hour drive to Bozeman, Montana to face Montana State.

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Feb. 28: Montana State 82, Sac State 61

In the game against the Bobcats, it was more of the same for Bibby’s squad.

Montana State took a big lead early in the first half, but the Hornets brought it back within striking distance and ended the half down just four points, 37-33.

The Hornets’ hot 3-point shooting cooled off in the second half, dropping from 54.5% in the opening period to 20% in the last 20 minutes. The Bobcats saw the opposite effect, with their rate on long-range efforts rising from 22.2% to 60%, resulting in an 82-61 Sac State loss.

“We came out and competed in the first half, but we didn’t sustain it,” Bibby said. “On the road in this league, you can’t have the defensive lapses we had in the second half and expect to win. We have to be tougher and more disciplined for 40 minutes.”

The loss is the seventh in a row for the Hornets, tying their season-long losing streak from Nov. 29, 2025 through Jan. 10. It also means that they finished their regular season without a win on the road, 0-9 in Big Sky ball and 0-16 on the year.

“We showed flashes of who we can be. When we pushed the pace and attacked downhill, we were effective,” Bibby said. “The challenge for us is turning those flashes into consistency, especially away from home.”

Sophomore guard Jayden Teat tied for leading the Hornets in scoring with 15 points, his most since the second game of the season against Jessup University. Also scoring 15 points was Johnson, for his 11th straight game of double-digit scoring.

Madi also continued his run of improved form, scoring 14 points, grabbing three boards and getting three steals.

Freshman guard Romari Robinson got his first collegiate start in place of junior guard Jahni Summers, who came off the bench for the first time this season. Robinson was wearing the No. 1 jersey that is normally sported by sophomore guard Mikey Williams due to equipment issues. Williams didn’t play in either game of the road trip and hasn’t appeared for Sac State since their game against Portland State on Feb. 7.

Romari Robinson wearing the number 1 jersey for Sac State tonight. Robinson usually wears the number 3, and Mikey Williams usually dons the uno pic.twitter.com/OJuJU6zQub

— Chris D. Johnson (@ChriisDJohnson) February 27, 2026

Bobcats junior guard Seth Amunrud was a flamethrower for Montana State, finishing with 21 points and shooting 5-for-7 from three. Right behind him were senior guard Jed Miller and redshirt junior guard Jeremiah Davis, who had 18 and 16 points, respectively.

Following the season’s final slate of Saturday Big Sky games, Sac State sits at ninth in Big Sky Conference standings, and would currently be matched up against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.

Sac State plays their final regular season Big Sky Conference men’s basketball game ever on Monday at 7 p.m., and a win against Idaho State would bump them up to eighth place in the conference standings, in which case they’d take on whichever team ends up as the seventh seed in the first round of Starch Madness.