Fresh off a 72-54 loss at Fresno State, the Sacramento State men's basketball squad (1-6) travels to Moraga, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 17, to take on the Gaels of Saint Mary's at 7:05 p.m. The Hornets and Gaels have faced each other seven times in the last nine years, with Saint Mary's coming out on top in six of those contests, including 88-74 last season in Sacramento. The game against Saint Mary's is the second of a season-long three-game road trip for the Hornets. Sacramento State last played at home against San Francisco on Dec. 7, and does not return to the Hornets Nest until a Dec. 22 meeting with Great Falls. In fact, Sacramento State will play just five of its first 14 games at home. The Hornets have just five games remaining on their non-conference schedule before diving into Big Sky Conference play at Portland State on Jan. 6.
The Hornets' 1-6 record is their worst after seven games since the 1998-99 squad began the year 0-7. Of the Hornets' 11 active players on the roster, seven are playing their first season in a Sacramento State uniform (and first year of Div. I basketball).
Last Saturday at Fresno State, Sacramento State opened up a seven-point halftime lead (30-23) before the Bulldogs went on a 29-2 run to open the second half and never looked back. Junior Jason Harris (13 points) was the only Hornet to finish in double figures as Sacramento State shot just 21.1 percent (8-38) from the field in the second half.
Saint Mary's (7-4) is coming off a 73-64 road victory over San Diego State on Tuesday. The Gaels have won five of their last seven and are perfect at home this season (3-0). Saint Mary's also has road wins at Cal (61-52) and UNLV (64-54).A Look at the Last Game
Sacramento State put an early scare into Fresno State as the Hornets opened up a seven-point halftime lead (30-23) before Mustafa Al-Sayyad scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lead the Bulldogs to a 72-54 win over the Hornets last Saturday.
Fresno State, which was already in the bonus at the 11:47 mark of the second half, went on a 21-0 run open the half and took a commanding 44-30 lead with 11:47 to play. A free throw from Jason Harris stopped the run, but Sacramento State would get no closer than 13 points of the Bulldogs? lead the rest of the night. In fact, Fresno State eventually opened the half on a 29-2 run, and finally outscored the Hornets, 49-24, in the second stanza..
The Hornets played the game short-handed (with just 10 active players, including seven newcomers) as Jameel Pugh did not play because of a stress fracture in his right foot.
Second-Half Struggles
While Sacramento State has played well in the first halves of games this season (outscoring the opposition by 1.4 points), the team has struggled in the second half (being outscored by 10.4 points).
The second-half disparity problems loomed large against Fresno State as the Hornets were oustcored by 25 points in the second stanza after entering halftime with a seven-point lead. In fact, the Bulldogs opened the second half on a seemingly impossible 29-2 run. Fresno State went from shooting 29.2 percent in the first half, to a 68.0 percent clip in the second half.
The Hornets have also been outscored in the second halves by Michigan (18 points), Southern Utah (11), UC Davis (14) and UC Irvine (13).
Against UC Davis on Dec. 1, Sacramento State failed to score during the final 6:30 of regulation, allowing the Aggies to send the game into overtime. After outscoring UC Davis in the first half by a big margin (29-15), the Hornets were outscored in the second period, 41-27.
Not only was the team outscored by 14 points in the second half against UC Davis, the Hornets were then outscored by nine points (16-7) in the overtime session.
The Hornets, who trailed by just three points at halftime against Michigan, were outscored, 36-18, in the second half. After taking an 18-point lead into halftime (39-21) against Southern Utah, the Hornets were outscored in the second half, 46-35.
Sacramento State has outscored the opponent in the second half only two times this year: Long Beach State (five points) and San Francisco (three points). In those games, the Hornets were outscored in the first half by 19 points (Long Beach State) and eight points (San Francisco).
Already Thin Roster Just Got Thinner
Senior Jameel Pugh, who entered the season as arguably the team's top returner from last year, missed the Fresno State game with a stress fracture in his right foot that began to develop prior to the start of the season. Pugh could miss the next 1-2 weeks with the injury as the transfer from UMass has been fit with a walking boot.
The Sacramento, Calif., native is third on the team, averaging 10.7 points per game to go along with 4.0 rebounds. Pugh, who was named by Slam Magazine as the World's Best Dunker in 2000, had struggled to find his shooting touch during the first six games of the season, Despite averaging double figures, Pugh was shooting just 26.6 percent (21-79) from the field. This comes one season after ranking third on the Hornets in field-goal percentage (.440).
The loss of Pugh leaves Sacramento State even more short-handed as the team had already been playing without the services of two of its returners (junior forward Chris Lange and senior point guard James Payne). Both Lange and Payne are not eligible to return to the lineup until early January.
Sacramento State's active roster features just 10 players, seven of which are newcomers and playing their first seasons of Div. I basketball. Of the seven newcomers, four are freshmen and the other three are junior college transfers.
Hornet head coach Jerome Jenkins has been forced to use three different starting lineups through the first seven games of the season while letting the newcomers adapt.
The Hornets' 1-6 record is their worst after seven games since the 1998-99 squad began the year 0-7. Of the Hornets' 11 active players on the roster, seven are playing their first season in a Sacramento State uniform (and first year of Div. I basketball).
Last Saturday at Fresno State, Sacramento State opened up a seven-point halftime lead (30-23) before the Bulldogs went on a 29-2 run to open the second half and never looked back. Junior Jason Harris (13 points) was the only Hornet to finish in double figures as Sacramento State shot just 21.1 percent (8-38) from the field in the second half.
Saint Mary's (7-4) is coming off a 73-64 road victory over San Diego State on Tuesday. The Gaels have won five of their last seven and are perfect at home this season (3-0). Saint Mary's also has road wins at Cal (61-52) and UNLV (64-54).A Look at the Last Game
Sacramento State put an early scare into Fresno State as the Hornets opened up a seven-point halftime lead (30-23) before Mustafa Al-Sayyad scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lead the Bulldogs to a 72-54 win over the Hornets last Saturday.
Fresno State, which was already in the bonus at the 11:47 mark of the second half, went on a 21-0 run open the half and took a commanding 44-30 lead with 11:47 to play. A free throw from Jason Harris stopped the run, but Sacramento State would get no closer than 13 points of the Bulldogs? lead the rest of the night. In fact, Fresno State eventually opened the half on a 29-2 run, and finally outscored the Hornets, 49-24, in the second stanza..
The Hornets played the game short-handed (with just 10 active players, including seven newcomers) as Jameel Pugh did not play because of a stress fracture in his right foot.
Second-Half Struggles
While Sacramento State has played well in the first halves of games this season (outscoring the opposition by 1.4 points), the team has struggled in the second half (being outscored by 10.4 points).
The second-half disparity problems loomed large against Fresno State as the Hornets were oustcored by 25 points in the second stanza after entering halftime with a seven-point lead. In fact, the Bulldogs opened the second half on a seemingly impossible 29-2 run. Fresno State went from shooting 29.2 percent in the first half, to a 68.0 percent clip in the second half.
The Hornets have also been outscored in the second halves by Michigan (18 points), Southern Utah (11), UC Davis (14) and UC Irvine (13).
Against UC Davis on Dec. 1, Sacramento State failed to score during the final 6:30 of regulation, allowing the Aggies to send the game into overtime. After outscoring UC Davis in the first half by a big margin (29-15), the Hornets were outscored in the second period, 41-27.
Not only was the team outscored by 14 points in the second half against UC Davis, the Hornets were then outscored by nine points (16-7) in the overtime session.
The Hornets, who trailed by just three points at halftime against Michigan, were outscored, 36-18, in the second half. After taking an 18-point lead into halftime (39-21) against Southern Utah, the Hornets were outscored in the second half, 46-35.
Sacramento State has outscored the opponent in the second half only two times this year: Long Beach State (five points) and San Francisco (three points). In those games, the Hornets were outscored in the first half by 19 points (Long Beach State) and eight points (San Francisco).
Already Thin Roster Just Got Thinner
Senior Jameel Pugh, who entered the season as arguably the team's top returner from last year, missed the Fresno State game with a stress fracture in his right foot that began to develop prior to the start of the season. Pugh could miss the next 1-2 weeks with the injury as the transfer from UMass has been fit with a walking boot.
The Sacramento, Calif., native is third on the team, averaging 10.7 points per game to go along with 4.0 rebounds. Pugh, who was named by Slam Magazine as the World's Best Dunker in 2000, had struggled to find his shooting touch during the first six games of the season, Despite averaging double figures, Pugh was shooting just 26.6 percent (21-79) from the field. This comes one season after ranking third on the Hornets in field-goal percentage (.440).
The loss of Pugh leaves Sacramento State even more short-handed as the team had already been playing without the services of two of its returners (junior forward Chris Lange and senior point guard James Payne). Both Lange and Payne are not eligible to return to the lineup until early January.
Sacramento State's active roster features just 10 players, seven of which are newcomers and playing their first seasons of Div. I basketball. Of the seven newcomers, four are freshmen and the other three are junior college transfers.
Hornet head coach Jerome Jenkins has been forced to use three different starting lineups through the first seven games of the season while letting the newcomers adapt.
