It all comes down to this. The Sacramento State men’s basketball team and Montana State will play a do-or-die game on Saturday, March 1, with the winner advancing to the Big Sky Conference Tournament. The loser of the game will have its season come to a close. Tip off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. in the Hornets Nest.

The game will be broadcast on KTKZ 1380 AM with Steve McElroy calling the action. For those outside of the greater Sacramento area, the contest can also be heard via the internet at www.hornetsports.com.

The Hornets come into their final regular-season game with a 10-16 overall mark and a 4-9 record in league games. Sacramento State dropped a 77-71 decision against Montana and Thursday night but still controls its own playoff destiny.

Like the Hornets, Montana State (11-15, 5-8) is also on a three-game losing streak. The Bobcats lost at Northern Arizona, 81-71, on Wednesday.

• 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 24-56 career record.

Montana State is led by Mick Durham. Currently in his 13th season with the Bobcats, Durham has guided MSU to a 200-165 overall record.

• A Look at the Latest Action

Senior David Bell scored 14 of Montana’s final 17 points to help the Grizzlies hold on for a 77-71 victory in front of 1,149 fans at the Hornets Nest Thursday night.

After trailing by as many as five, 10-5, Montana eventually led by 14 after a three-pointer from Kevin Criswell. Brandon Guyton stopped the 17-3 run with a three-pointer just before halftime to make the score, 38-27.

The Hornets found themselves down 13, 42-29, early in the second half before the team’s offense awoke. Raashad Hooks began a run with a jumper and Jimmy White electrified the crowd with a follow-up dunk to trim the deficit to nine. Hooks added a second jumper and Guyton buried a three to cap a 9-0 run.

Montana began to pull away, leading by as many as seven. Down four, 65-61, with 4:27 left, Sacramento State used a three-point play by Derek Lambeth to get back into the game. Lambeth gave the Hornets their first lead since the opening minutes with a runner on the next possession.

The lead, however, was short-lived, due to the play of Bell. The Grizzlies’ leading scorer made all six of his free throws and added a three-pointer to seal the game.

Despite shooting 5-of-16 from the floor, Lambeth led Sacramento State with 21 points. The senior did most of his damage from the line, making 10-of-11 free throws. White and Guyton each added 12 points and Cedric Thompkins scored 10.

Bell’s total of 22 points was slightly behind Criswell’s 25. Like Lambeth, Bell was 5-of-13 from the floor but also made 10-of-11 free throws. Criswell sparked the team in the first half with 19 points in the opening period. The freshman was limited to six points in the final 20 minutes.

A Look at the Hornets

• The Breakdown

Going into Saturday’s game there are three teams (Sacramento State, Northern Arizona and Montana State) battling for two playoff berths. Of the eight scenarios that remain, two have the Hornets finishing as the fifth seed, two as the sixth seed and four have the team not making the Big Sky Tournament.

If Sacramento State defeats MSU, it is guaranteed at least the sixth seed. In order to move up to the fifth spot, a Hornet win must be coupled by Northern Arizona losing to Montana.

Weber State and Eastern Washington are guaranteed to finish first and second, respectively. The two teams will also have a first-round bye. Montana’s victory on Thursday clinched the third seed while Idaho State will finish fourth.

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 Weber State.

• One Final Time

Not only will Saturday’s game determine the team’s playoff future, it also marks the final time that four Hornets will play a home game. Seniors Leo Cravey, Raashad Hooks, Derek Lambeth and Jimmy White will all be honored prior to the start of the contest.

Cravey is in his second season with the team after transferring from Sierra College. Last season he appeared in 27 games and scored a career-high 10 points against Lipscomb. This year, Cravey sat out the first half of the year and has played in 11 games.

Lambeth is the lone four-year member of the team. The Oakland, Calif., native leads the team in scoring and is also ranked in the top three of rebounding, assists, steals and three-pointers. Saturday’s game will be Lambeth’s 93rd of his career and his 54th start. He and White are the only two players to start every game for the team this season.

Hooks is in his second year at Sacramento State. A transfer from West Valley JC, Hooks currently ranks second on the team in scoring and steals while leading the squad in assists.

White, who is also a junior college transfer, has started 38 games in his two years with the team. This year he leads the Big Sky in blocked shots and paces the team in rebounding. He is also third on the squad in scoring.

• Finding His Groove

After a rough stretch through the middle of the season, Brandon Guyton appears to have found his rhythm over the past six games. The Stockton, Calif., native has scored in double-figures in four of those games, including a career-high 22 at Idaho State last Saturday.

Against the Bengals, Guyton was 8-of-14 from the field and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line. Five of his eight field goals came from behind the three-point line.

On Thursday against Montana, Guyton sparked Sacramento State’s comeback with four three-pointers.

Guyton is the only Sacramento State player to record two 20-point games this year. Earlier this season, he tallied 21 with the help of seven threes at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

• Minimizing Mistakes

Despite losing its last three games, Sacramento State has done a much improved job of keeping control of the ball. The Hornets, who average 16.8 turnovers per game, have committed just 32 faux pas (10.3 pg) over the last three contests.

In the latest action, Sacramento State only had eight turnovers against Montana. Conversely, the Hornet defense, which forces the opposition into over 17 turnovers per game, has only tallied 35 turnovers (11.7 pg) during the same stretch.

• Other Notes

With a steal against Montana, DaShawn Freeman remained atop the Big Sky standings in steals. The freshman now has 67 steals and is averaging 2.57 per game. Freeman is on pace to end the season with 69 steals, the school record was 65 by Pat Wallace set in 1989-90...White also remained atop the Big Sky in blocked shots. He now has 34 rejections (1.31 per game) this year which is ahead of Portland State’s Seth Scott (1.20 per game)...as a team, the Hornets are first in the league in steals.

• A Look at the Last Meeting

Raashad Hooks scored 14 points and Sacramento State made 61.4 percent of its shots as the Hornets defeated Montana State, 72-66, on Jan. 30 at Worthington Arena.

The win improved Sacramento State to 8-11 overall and 2-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Hornets also earned their fourth road win of the year and moved into a five-way tie for fourth place. The Bobcats dropped to 8-11 overall and 2-4 in league games.

Sacramento State jumped to a quick start, claiming a 25-10 lead in the first 10 minutes. Helping spark the run was junior Brandon Guyton who came off the bench to drain three three-pointers.

The Hornets led by as many as 18 in the period before settling for a 43-30 halftime advantage. In the period, Sacramento State made 17-of-25 (.680) shots while MSU was 10-for-20 (.500)

Montana State began to whittle away at the Hornet lead, pulling to within two, 66-64. Freshman Chris Lange extended the team’s lead with a baseline jumper just before the shot clock expired and Hooks added a pair of free throws to seal the game.

Hooks was 5-of-9 from the floor, including a pair of three-pointers, and 2-of-3 from the line to account for his 14 points. Senior Derek Lambeth continued his consistent play with 13 points and junior Cedric Thompkins added 11 points in his first action of the season.

Lambeth, Hooks, Thompkins and Jimmy White all tied for the team lead in rebounding with five. As a team, Sacramento State outrebounded MSU, 27-22.

Montana State was paced by Pete Conway’s 20 points. Shea Washington added 11 and Casey Reynolds contributed 10. Former Sacramento State player Bo Segeberg led all players with seven rebounds.

A Look at the Bobcats

• After winning the Big Sky regular-season title last year, the Bobcats are facing not making the Big Sky Tournament for the first time since 1999-2000.

• Senior Pete Conway has scored in double-figures in nine of the team’s past 10 games. Conway has started all 26 games and leads the team in scoring and three-pointers.

• Saturday’s game marks the first time that Bo Segeberg returns to Sacramento State since transferring following his freshman season.

• The Series

Montana State leads the all-time series, 14-5. No team has swept the season series since MSU won two games in 1998-99.

• Who’s Up Next

With a win, Sacramento State advances to the Big Sky Quarterfinals. The game will be played on Saturday, March 8, and can be heard on KTKZ 1380 AM.

• Big Sky Notes

Weber State guard Jermaine Boyette and Idaho State forward Jeremy Brown were named Big Sky Conference co-Players of the Week.

Boyette averaged 20.0 points per game and helped the Wildcats to two wins. Weber State has now won 13-straight games.

Brown also averaged 20.0 points and added 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. Against the Hornets, he had 24 points and six boards.

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