After a disappointing, 90-70, loss at Northern Arizona on Saturday, the Sacramento State men’s basketball team will look to continue its quest for a road win when it travels to Montana on Friday, Feb. 22. The game, which will be held at the Adams Center, will tip off at 6:35 p.m. PST. The contest can be heard on KTKZ 1380 AM and www.hornetsports.com with Steve McElroy calling the action. The broadcast, however, will be tape delayed until 10 p.m.

Sacramento State enters the game with a 9-15 overall record and a 3-7 mark in Big Sky Conference games. The Hornets currently hold sole possession of sixth place in the league standings. The top six teams in the league advance to the Big Sky Conference Tournament at the end of the regular season.

Montana enters the week riding a two-game losing streak. The Grizzlies fell at Idaho State, 79-64, last Friday. The team is 1-0 against the Hornets this season.

• Meet the Coaches

Jerome Jenkins returns for his second season as head coach at Sacramento State. Jenkins became the 12th coach in the 53-year history of Hornet basketball when he was named to the position on March 14, 2000.

The 34-year old coach came to Sacramento State prior to the 1999-2000 season and served as the team’s top assistant coach. Jenkins previously had worked two seasons as an assistant at Eastern Washington. Prior to work at EWU, Jenkins spent four seasons at Diablo Valley College.

A native of Los Angeles, Jenkins was an all-conference point guard at L.A. City College as a freshman before playing his sophomore season at Southwestern Oregon C.C. He then transferred to Regis University in Denver, Colo., where he played his final two seasons. While with the Rangers, he led the team in assists and steals and was twice named all-conference.

Jenkins picked up his first career victory on Nov. 17 when the Hornets topped Bethany College, 103-49. He currently has a 13-37 career record.

Montana is led by Don Holst. In his four years with the Griz, Holst has produced a 52-54 overall record.

A Look at the Hornets

• Injury Update

Both Derek Lambeth and Ronnie Walton continue to nurse leg injuries. Lambeth, however, appears to be on the road to recovery while Walton is still hampered. Lambeth played nine minutes at Northern Arizona which was his longest stint since injuring his knee at Portland State. Walton did not play against NAU.

Lambeth went down in the first half at PSU. An MRI revealed no major damage and the guard/forward has returned to full practice with the team.

Walton’s injury is a little more serious. The senior is playing with two hairline fractures in his shin. The problem was originally diagnosed as shin splints but an X-ray revealed the small breaks. He will likely be limited to just one game a week for the remainder of the season.

• White Out

Junior Jimmy White joined Cedric Thompkins as the only Hornets with multiple double-doubles this season. The Las Vegas, Nev., native scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the year.

White made 7-of-12 shots from the floor to account for his 14 points. He also pulled down four offensive rebounds to lead the team. Over the last four games, White is averaging 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest.

• One Step Away

The Sacramento State men’s basketball team is just one victory away from setting a couple of school records. With its next win, the Hornets will earn their 10th overall and fourth league victory.

The team tied the overall and league Div. I-era record with its win over Idaho State. The previous best overall mark of 9-18 was held by the 1999-2000 team. Both 1998-99 and 1999-00 teams won three Big Sky games.

The Hornets are also still searching for their first conference road win. Sacramento State has lost all 45 games played away from home since becoming a member of the league.

• Follow My Lead

For the first time since Nov. 21, Cedric Thompkins scored over 10 points and the Hornets lost. Sacramento State had won seven in a row when the sophomore cracked double-figures but that streak came to an end at NAU.

Thompkins made 3-of-5 shots from the field and 3-of-5 free throws to give him 11 points on the night. The Los Angeles native, has now scored 11 points in each of the last three games.

The team’s only other loss this season when he recorded 10 came at San Jose State where he had 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Thompkins enters the week leading the team with 6.4 rebounds. He is also third on the squad with 8.3 points per game.

• Mr. Jones

Joel Jones has emerged as one of the top scorers in the Big Sky Conference. The high-flying junior tied for the team lead with 14 points at Northern Arizona extending his streak to five-straight games with at least 12 points.

In fact, Jones has scored in double-figures in 11 of his last 12 games. The only team to hold him under 10 was Montana where he scored nine.

The San Diego native, enters the week ranked 10th in the Big Sky in scoring in all games. He is also fifth in the league in conference game scoring with an average of 16.4 ppg.

Jones ranks third on the team in scoring and leads the squad with 36 steals and 21 blocked shots.

• Not For a Lack of Effort

You cannot blame Sacramento State’s poor outside shooting on not trying. The Hornets attempted 20 three-pointers but made only two. The two treys tied the total in the season-opener against Old Dominion while the .100 shooting percentage marked the season-low.

Saturday’s performance marked the end of a streak in which the Hornets had shot above .321 in five of the past six games. During that stretch, the team made at least five threes in each game.

• Other Notes

The 90 points was the most allowed since UC Riverside scored 100 on Dec. 27...Rashaad Hooks has averaged 8.0 points over the last seven games.

• A Look at the Last Meeting

Dan Trammel led all players with 21 points and 12 rebounds and Montana went to free-throw line 42 times as the Grizzlies defeated Sacramento State, 88-78, Jan. 26 in Hornet Gym.

The Hornets were whistled for a season-high 31 fouls, including seven in the first 4:29 of the second half. Sacramento State took 18 more shots from the field than Montana, but converted on just 33.3 percent (24-72) from the field. The Hornets outrebounded the Grizzlies, 45-41.

Trammel, Brent Cummings (20 points, 8-of-12 shooting) and David Bell (17 points, 5-of-11 from three-point range) combined for 58 of the Grizzlies’ 88 points.

Sacramento State jumped out to an early 10-9 lead at the 15:18 mark of the first half before Montana used an 8-0 run to go up, 17-10, with 13:15 to play. Sacramento State would not regain the lead for the remainder of the contest as Montana led for the last 35 minutes of the game.

The Hornets used a late 5-0 run to climb back within five points (83-78) of Montana with 54 seconds to play. However, the Grizzlies’ Shane Christensen converted on a pair of free throws to push the lead back up to seven with 50 seconds left. After a missed three-pointer by Leo Cravey, Cummings converted on a put-back lay-up with 31 seconds to play, pushing the lead to 87-78.

Junior Joe Dawson led Sacramento State with 17 points while seniors Rene Jacques (11) and Ronnie Walton (10) rounded out the Hornets in double figures. Sacramento State’s field goal percentage (33.3) marked the team’s worst output since shooting 28.3 percent in the second game of the season against Wofford (Nov. 14).

A Look at the Grizzlies

• Montana has gone 1-3 since it defeated Sacramento State on Jan. 26. The Griz have lost their past two games to Eastern Washington and Idaho State.

• David Bell and Dan Trammel form one of the better combinations in the Big Sky. Bell currently averages 14.5 ppg while Trammel adds 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest.

Bell ranks sixth in the league in scoring and Trammel is second in rebounding.

• Both Sam Riddle and Shane Christensen already have over 100 assists this season. In comparison, Joe Dawson leads the Hornets with 76.

The Series

• Montana leads the all-time series, 14-1. The Griz have won the past six meetings between the two schools including both games last season.

Who’s Up Next

• Sacramento State will continue its stay in Montana when it plays at Montana State on Saturday. The game starts at 6 p.m. PST

Big Sky Notes

• Montana State’s Damir Latovic was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week. Latovic scored 23 points in the team’s 63-59 win at Idaho State on Saturday.

The junior was 7-of-10 from the field including a pair of threes. The Belgrade, Yugoslavia native was also 7-for-7 at the line and added four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

Latovic continues to lead the league with 7.6 rebounds per game and eight double-doubles.

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