Coming off a 72-52 win over Montana State on March 1, the Sacramento State men’s basketball team will make its debut in the Big Sky Conference Tournament on Saturday, March 8, against Montana. The game against the Grizzlies will start at 6:35 p.m. PST in Dahlberg Arena.

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 ended the regular season with an 11-16 overall record and a 5-9 mark in Big Sky games. Both win totals are the most since the program moved to Div. I (1991-92). Sacramento State’s only other postseason appearance came in the 1994-95 season when the team lost to Cal State Northridge in the first round of the America West Conference Tournament.

Montana split its final two games of the season to earn the third seed in the tournament. The Grizzlies concluded the regular season 13-16 overall and 7-7 in league games.

• Meet the Coaches

Jerome Jenkins is in 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 25-56 career record.

Montana is led by Pat Kennedy. A veteran collegiate coach, Kennedy is in his first season with the Griz. He most recently coached at DePaul and Florida State.

A Look at the Hornets

• A Long Time Coming

Sacramento State’s appearance in the Big Sky Tournament has been in the works for quite some time. The Hornets are currently in their seventh season in the league but are making their first postseason bid. In fact, the closest Sacramento State has come to making the six-team field came last season when it was eliminated with one game remaining.

The Hornets’ five league victories this season, are two more than Sacramento State has ever recorded in Big Sky play. The five wins also matched the total amount of conference games won by the program in its first three seasons in the Big Sky (1997-99).

• Oh, What a Week

If there are any questions how Sacramento State advanced into the Big Sky Tournament, you should not look any further than Derek Lambeth. The senior single-handedly led the Hornets to victory over Montana State to cap a magnificent week. For his efforts, Lambeth was named co-Big Sky Player of the Week, sharing the award with Montana’s David Bell.

In the two games against Montana and Montana State, Lambeth averaged 23.0 points. He opened the week with 21 points against the Griz. Despite shooting just 5-of-16 from the field, Lambeth took advantage of his free throws, making 10-of-11 attempts.

Playing in his final home game of his four-year career, Lambeth poured in a season-high 25 points against the Bobcats. He made 8-of-16 field goals and was a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the three-point line. Prior to the MSU game, Lambeth had never made more than three threes in a game.

What makes Lambeth’s efforts even more amazing is the fact that 23 of his points came came within the first 14 minutes of the second half. In the period, Lambeth was 8-of-9 from the field, including all five three-pointers.

This season, Lambeth leads the team with 345 points. He has scored in double-figures 19 times and is one of two players (Jimmy White) to start all 27 games. The Oakland, Calif., native has scored 71 more points as a senior than he did in his first three seasons combined.

Lambeth’s skills are not limited to scoring. He enters the Big Sky Tournament ranked second on the team in rebounding, and third in assists, three-pointers and steals.

• Seeing Double

While Lambeth stole the adulations with his 25 points, Jimmy White continued to quietly produce solid numbers. The senior recorded his team-leading third double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Montana State. White is the only player on the team to have more than one double-double this year.

The Las Vegas native has scored in double-figures in the past three games and four of the last five. He averaged 10.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per Big Sky game and led the team with a .574 shooting percentage in those contests.

Overall, White ranks third on the team in scoring, while leading the team in rebounding, shooting percentage and blocked shots.

• Leading the League

White and DaShawn Freeman concluded the regular season as the Big Sky’s top shot blocker and thief, respectively.

White recorded 35 blocked shots to finish five ahead of Portland State’s Seth Scott. His block total easily was the best on the team, more than doubling Chris Lange who was second with 14. White’s total is also tied for fourth in the school’s Div. I era. Vincent Stewart holds the record with 42 blocks during the 1993-94 season. The all-time school record was set by Cassius Kelleybrew who had 77 blocks in 1986-87.

Freeman ended the regular season with 68 steals in 27 games. The freshman averaged 2.52 steals per game to top Eastern Washington’s Alvin Snow (2.32 per game). The Oakland, Calif., native also set the all-time school record. Pat Wallace held the mark with 65 swipes in 1989-90. The previous high for the Div. I era came in 2000-01 when Rame Batta had 58.

• Whatever It Takes

Raashad Hooks has played numerous roles for the Hornets during his senior season. The San Jose, Calif., native has been used as both a point and shooting guard, a starter and a reserve, a scorer, a rebounder and a playmaker.

Nowhere is Hooks’ versatility more apparent than in the statistics. Hooks ranks second on the team in scoring at 9.9 points per game. He leads the team in assists with 112, is second with 49 steals, third with 10 blocks and fourth with 106 rebounds.

This season, he has scored in double-figures 13 times while appearing in all 27 games (20 starts). He recorded a double-double at Idaho State where he had 11 points and 10 assists. Earlier this season, he led the team to a win over Eastern Washington with a career high 23 points. On Saturday against Montana State, his scoring was down (seven points) but he managed to grab eight rebounds, hand out a team-high five assists and swipe three steals.

• Minimizing Mistakes

Despite going 1-3 in its last four games, Sacramento State has done a much improved job of keeping control of the ball. The Hornets, who average 16.6 turnovers per game, have committed just 43 faux pas (10.8 pg) over the last three contests.

In the latest action, Sacramento State had 11 turnovers against Montana State. The Hornet defense also stepped up against the Bobcats, forcing MSU into 19 turnovers.

• Other Notes

Sacramento State has averaged 25.5 points in the first half and 46.0 points in the second half of the last two games...Brandon Guyton has made at least one three-pointer in each of the last nine games...The Hornets are 9-0 when leading at halftime...the team is just 2-16 when tied or behind at the half.

• A Look at the First Meeting

Steve Horne scored a career-high 19 points and David Bell added 17 to lead Montana to a 66-59 victory over Sacramento State in front of a sellout crowd of 7,332 at Dahlberg Arena on Feb. 1.

After UM scored the first two points of the contest, Sacramento State went on a 13-2 run to claim an early nine-point lead. The Griz quickly answered with a 10-3 run of their own to pull within two (16-14). Montana eventually took an 18-17 lead after a pair of free throws from Kevin Criswell with 5:51 left in the first half.

The Grizzlies pushed their lead to five (24-19) before the Hornets received a three-pointer and a layup from Raashad Hooks to tie the game. The two teams then exchanged the lead twice before Horne gave UM a 30-29 halftime advantage on a layup with 36 seconds showing.

The lead proved to be plenty for Montana who

never trailed in the second period. After the Hornets pulled within one, 40-39, the Grizzlies went on a 16-3 run over the next six minutes to end any hopes of a Sacramento State comeback.

The Hornets made one final spurt in the final minutes and Chris Lange’s three made the score 64-59 with 43 seconds left. Bell, however, made two free throws on the next possession.

Hooks and fellow senior Jimmy White led the Sacramento State offense with 15 points apiece. Lange added 11.

After shooting 61.4 percent in their win over Montana State on Jan. 30, the Hornets were just 22-of-68 from the floor against the Griz. Sacramento State’s three-point percentage was even lower as the team made 6-of-29 attempts.

Freshman DaShawn Freeman and senior Cedric Thompkins tied for the team lead with eight rebounds.

• A Look at the Second Meeting

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 on Feb. 28.

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 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 Grizzlies

• Montana is making its 22nd appearance in the Big Sky Tournament since 1977-78. The Grizzlies have won the tournament title four times, including last season as a No. 5 seed.

• Montana is 8-5 at home this season but was only 4-3 at Dahlberg Arena against Big Sky foes.

• Senior David Bell and freshman Kevin Criswell have formed a dynamic duo. The pair combine for over 22 points per game and have made 158 three-pointers. Bell averages 17.8 ppg while Criswell contributes 14.8 ppg.

• The Series

Montana leads the all-time series, 17-1. The Hornets’ lone win came during the 1998-99 season which ended the team’s 34-game losing streak.

• Who’s Up Next

With a win, Sacramento State will play Weber State on Tuesday, March 11. The game will take place in Ogden, Utah, and can be heard on KTKZ 1380 AM.

• Big Sky Notes

Derek Lambeth and David Bell were named co-Big Sky Player of the Week. Lambeth averaged 23.0 points per game while Bell averaged 25.5.

• Weber State won both of its games last week to end the regular season 14-0. The Wildcats became the first Big Sky team to go undefeated in league games since WSU went 15-0 in 1968-69.

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