Riding a two-game winning streak, and with playoff implications on the line, the Sacramento State men’s basketball team will travel to Weber State on Thursday, Feb. 20. The game, which will be held at the Dee Events Center, is scheduled to tip off at 6:05 p.m. PST.

The contest can be heard on KTKZ 1380 AM (tape-delayed until 7 p.m.) with Steve McElroy providing the play-by-play. For those outside the greater Sacramento area, the game will also be broadcast via the internet at www.hornetsports.com.

Sacramento State improved its record to 10-13 overall and 4-6 in Big Sky games with a 72-58 win over Portland State Saturday night at home. The win established school Div. I-era marks for most total victories and most Big Sky wins in a season.

Weber State remained perfect in Big Sky play with a pair of victories over Montana State and Montana. The Wildcats are currently 20-5 overall and 10-0 in league games. That performance earned them a No. 9 ranking in the latest ESPN.com mid-major poll.

• Meet the Coaches

Jerome Jenkins returns for his third 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 working at EWU, he 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 23-54 career record.

Weber State is led by Joe Cravens. Currently in his fourth season with the Wildcats, Cravens has posted a 71-40 record.

A LOOK AT THE HORNETS

• Unchartered Territory

Saturday’s win over Portland State put Sacramento State in a position it has never been before. Since joining Div. I prior to the 1991-92 season, the Hornets had never been able to win more than nine games.

That all changed against the Vikings where Sacramento State was able to improve its record to 10-13 overall. The win was also the fourth Big Sky victory of the season, eclipsing the previous high of three which was set during the 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2001-02 seasons.

From the time the Hornets moved to Div. I until Jenkins took over before the 2000-01 season, Sacramento State won just 37 games in nine years (4.1 per season). Including the 10 wins this season, Jenkins has now tallied 24 wins in three years (8.0 per season).

• The Breakdown

The Big Sky Tournament picture did not become any clearer last week. Weber State remained the only team to secure a tournament appearance while the seven other schools are still mathematically alive. Eastern Washington has a chance to be the second team to guarantee an appearance if it defeats Portland State on Saturday. A Viking loss would also eliminate PSU from the race.

The middle of the pack should begin to shake out as Idaho State hosts both Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. All three teams are tied for fifth place but are just a half game behind Montana and Montana State for third.

The tournament begins on March 8 with first round games to be held at the site of No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. The third seed takes on No. 6 while the fourth seed hosts No. 5. The winners of those games will join the second seed for the semifinals which will be held at the home of the regular-season champion.

• Hook-in It Up

Despite scoring just over half the points he did against Eastern Washington, senior Raashad Hooks was still potent enough for the Hornets against Portland State. The guard scored 12 points, grabbed four boards and had three assists in the win over the Vikings. That performance followed a career-high 23-point effort against EWU on Thursday.

Against the Eagles, Hooks was 6-of-11 from the field and 9-of-9 at the charity stripe. His six field goals also established a new career mark while his nine made free throws tied his career high.

He also added three rebounds, four assists and just one turnover in 31 minutes of work.

This season, Hooks ranks second on the team with an average of 9.8 points per game. He also is second on the squad with 85 assists and 45 steals, and is fourth with 89 rebounds. In Big Sky play, he is averaging 11.1 ppg.

Hooks is also ranked among conference leaders where he is third in steals, fourth in assists, fifth in assist-to-turnover ration (+1.29) and seventh in free-throw percentage (.779).

• Leading the Way

Aside from being the first team in the school’s Div. I era to win 10 overall games and four league games, this season’s squad has also been the first to accomplish other feats.

With a double-overtime win at Northern Arizona on Jan. 11, the 2002-03 team recorded the first Big Sky road victory in school history. The team also ended a 39-game overall road losing streak with a win at Cal Poly and a 68-game skid in which the team travelled to a game via plane.

The Hornets still have a few challenges remaining. The first comes against Weber State where the squad will look to record the first win against WSU in school history. The second comes at home against Montana State on March 1 where the team has a chance to record a Big Sky season sweep for the first time. The final challenge will be making the Big Sky Tournament.

• Other Notes

Jimmy White and DaShawn Freeman remained atop the Big Sky standings in blocked shots and steals, respectively. White is averaging 1.30 blocks per game while Freeman has recorded 2.70 steals per contest...as a team, the Hornets are first in the league in steals and three-point defense...freshman Chris Lange is averaging 13.5 points and 3.5 rebounds since being taken out of the starting lineup...Brandon Guyton has made at least one three-pointer in the last five games.

• A Look at the Last Meeting

Slobodan Ocokoljic led all players with 26 points and 17 rebounds and Jermaine Boyette added 20 points to lead Weber State to a 65-53 win over Sacramento State on Jan. 25 at the Hornets Nest.

Ocokoljic, who is in his first season with the Wildcats after transferring from Ohio State, was 7-of-15 from the floor and 11-of-14 from the line. He also had four offensive and 13 defensive rebounds to accompany two assists and a block.

After Sacramento State scored the game’s first basket, Boyette put the Wildcats on top for the remainder of the game with a three-pointer. Weber State led by as many as 11 (29-18) in the first half before the Hornets went on a 15-3 run to end the period down by one, 33-32.

Neither team was able to pull away for the first 10 minutes of the second half. Leading 47-45, Ocokoljic made a pair of free throws then hit a three-pointer to beat the shot clock to spark an 11-0 WSU run.

Freshman DaShawn Freeman buried a three to pull the team within eight (58-50) but Stevie Morrison immediately answered with a layup and Boyette sealed the game by making 5-of-6 free throws in the final 43 seconds.

Senior Derek Lambeth tied his season high with 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting to lead the Hornets. Freeman added 13 points, six assists and four steals.

Jimmy White nearly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. The senior also had five blocked shots and four assists. His five blocks were the most by a Hornet since Anthony Flood tallied five vs. Cal State Northridge on Jan. 27, 2000.

A Look at the Wildcats

• Weber State is in the midst of an 11-game winning streak which dates back to Jan. 8. That streak is the second longest active streak in Div. I trailing only Kentucky (14 games).

• Weber State, Kentucky and Penn are also the only three Div. I schools to have undefeated records in their respective conferences.

• Jermaine Boyette continues to lead the Big Sky in scoring with 20.1 points per game. Slobodan Ocokoljic is equally as hot in conference games, scoring 18.9 points per game.

• The Series

Weber State remains the only Big Sky opponent that Sacramento State has never defeated. Including this season’s loss, the Wildcats lead the all-time series, 15-0.

• Who’s Up Next

The Hornets will play their final regular-season road game on Saturday at Idaho State. The game against the Bengals will tip off at 6:05 p.m. PST and can be heard live on KTKZ 1380 AM.

• Big Sky Notes

Northern Arizona forward Ryan McDade was named Big Sky Player of the Week for games played Feb. 13-15.

McDade scored 30 points in both NAU games last week. The senior added nine rebounds, two assists and a steal in the win over Portland State. Against EWU, McDade was 13-of-17 and grabbed seven rebounds.

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