The Hornets, who had their season-high tying three-game winning streak snapped in a loss at Eastern Washington on Thursday, have now dropped nine of 11 games on the road this season. Sacramento State is trying to match its record for most Big Sky wins in a season (five, set in 2002-03). The Vikings (10-13, 4-6) are currently in sixth place in the conference standings, just a half game behind the Hornets. A total of 2.5 games separate the second and last place teams in the Big Sky standings as the top six squads in the eight-member league advance to the conference tournament (March 6-10). The Hornets, who sit just one game behind second-place Northern Arizona and Idaho State (5-4), are attempting to reach the conference tournament for the second-consecutive season.

Sacramento State has never defeated the Vikings (0-8) in Portland, Ore., including a three-point loss (86-83 in 2001-02) and a four-point loss (81-77 in 2000-01). Since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97, the Hornets have never defeated Portland State, Eastern Washington, Weber State or Idaho State on the road.

The Hornets have just five games remaining on the regular-season schedule, including a pair of home contests next week against Weber State (Feb. 19) and Idaho State (Feb. 21). Since joining the Big Sky, Sacramento State has combined to go just 4-31 over its final five games of the conference season. That includes a 2-3 mark over the final five games last year.

Portland State has won two of its last three games, including an 85-78 home victory over Northern Arizona on Thursday. The Vikings, who are 6-4 at home this season, lost to the Hornets (76-64) earlier this year in Sacramento. Portland State leads the all-time series, 11-6.

Meet the Coaches

Jerome Jenkins is currently in his fourth season at the helm of the Sacramento State basketball program. Since taking over a struggling team in 2000-01, the Hornets have improved their overall and conference records each season, including the program''s first-ever Big Sky Tournament appearance in 2002-03. He has posted a 36-70 record during his tenure as head coach.

Jenkins led the 2002-03 team to the following Div. I single-season records: most wins (12), most road wins (six), most conference wins (five), first Big Sky win on the road, first Big Sky Tournament victory (at Montana), first Big Sky road win, and most Big Sky road wins (two).

The 36-year old coach came to Sacramento State prior to the 1999-2000 season and served as the team’s top assistant coach that year. Jenkins previously had worked two seasons as an assistant at Eastern Washington (1997-99). Prior to working at EWU, he spent four seasons at Diablo Valley College, where he was an assistant coach (1993-95) and associate head coach (1995-97).

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 CC. He then transferred to Regis University in Denver, Colo., where he played his final two seasons.

Heath Schroyer is currently in his second season as head coach at Portland State. Prior to arriving at PSU, Schroyer spent one season as an assistant at Wyoming (2001-02) and four seasons as an assistant at BYU (1997-01). He has posted a 15-35 record with the Vikings.

A Look at the Latest Action

Eastern Washington used a 25-9 run to open the second half and Alvin Snow led all players with 18 points as the Eagles defeated Sacramento State, 83-57, Thursday evening at Reese Court.

Snow’s 18 points led a group of five Eastern Washington players in double figures as Brendon Merritt (15), Matt Nelson (13), Marc Axton (11) and Danny Pariseau (11) also tallied double digits. The Eagles, who led, 38-35, at halftime, outscored the Hornets 25-9 over the first 12 minutes of the second half to take a commanding 19-point lead (63-44) with 8:16 remaining in the game. The Eagles’ 26-point margin of victory was also its largest lead of the night and the worst loss the Hornets have endured all season.

Sacramento State was outscored in the second half, 45-22, a far cry from the program-record 67 second-half points the team scored in last Saturday’s win at Northern Arizona. The Hornets shot just 21.4 percent (6-28) from the field in the second half and missed nine of their first 10 field-goal attempts during the opening stages.

Sacramento State was led by senior Joseth Dawson and junior Jameel Pugh, who each scored 14 points. Dawson, who was named the Big Sky Player of the Week on Monday, went just 3-of-15 from the field, but also knocked down 7-of-8 attempts from the free-throw line. Pugh also led the team in rebounds with seven.

Only two Hornets with at least three field-goal attempts shot .500 for the game (senior Cedric Thompkins, 3-of-6, six points, and Pugh, 5-of-9). Sacramento State was also forced into 20 turnovers, its most since committing 24 at Oregon State on Dec. 22. The Hornets finished the game with a season-low 30.9 field-goal percentage (17-55) and seven assists.

Besides scoring 15 points for Eastern Washington, Merritt also finished with a team-best eight assists and five steals. Nelson led all players with 10 rebounds as the Eagles outrebounded the Hornets, 40-29.

A Look at the Hornets

Dynamic Trio

Against Northern Arizona, senior Joseth Dawson (30 points), junior Jameel Pugh (22) and senior Joel Jones (20) became the first Sacramento State trio to each score at least 20 points in a game since the program joined the Div. I ranks in 1991-92.

Dawson became the first Hornet to earn Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors this season after tying his career high with 30 points. His scoring production was the highest mark by a Hornet since he scored 30 in a loss at Portland State on Feb. 1, 2002. In addition, Dawson, who scored 14 of his points during the final 4:23 of the contest, currently leads the team with 17 double-figure games this season and 35 during his career.

His 14 free throws against NAU were the most by a Sacramento State player without a miss and ranked as the second-best mark in the school''s Div. I history (1991-pres.). The Fontana, Calif., native now leads the Big Sky Conference in free throws made (103) and ranks second in free-throw percentage (103-121, .851). Dawson, who leads the team in scoring (13.0 ppg) despite not starting a game this season, already ranks fourth in program history with 203 career free throws despite playing less than two seasons. Dawson had made 22-straight free throws (spanning three games) before missing his eighth and final attempt of the game at Eastern Washington.

After struggling for most of the first three months of the season, Pugh has turned it on over the last six games. Pugh''s 22 points at NAU matched a career high as the Sacramento native scored 22 as a sophomore at UMass on Jan. 12, 2002, at Fordham.

Over his last six games, Pugh, who is eighth in the Big Sky in offensive rebounds, is averaging 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the field. Named the World''s Best Dunker in 2000 by Slam Magazine, Pugh has six dunks over his last three games (including four at Northern Arizona).

Jones, who is the only Hornet to start all 22 games this season, leads the team with four games with at least 20 points this season. Including a 22-point performance against Montana, Jones is averaging 17.0 points over his last three games on 16-of-34 shooting (.471). He has also made 14 appearances at the free-throw line (converting 11) over the last three contests after going to the free-throw line just 31 times during the first 19 games of the season.

Arguably the Hornets'' best player, Jones ranks among the team''s top three performers in points (273), points per game (12.4), steals (22), three-pointers (40), three-point field-goal percentage (.385), minutes per game (29.2), field goals (100) and blocked shots (12).

Final Five Minutes Don''t Mean Much

So far this season, Sacramento State is a perfect 10-0 when leading a game with five minutes remaining in the second half. However, the Hornets are 0-12 when trailing with five minutes left in a game. In Sacramento State''s victories, the team has been leading by at least three points in all 10 games with five minutes to play.

In the Hornets'' losses, the team has trailed by at least three points with five minutes to play in each of those 12 games. Throw away the Oregon State game (where the Hornets trailed by three points), and Sacramento State has trailed by at least five points with five minutes to play. In the 10 victories, the Hornets have been leading by an average of 13.2 points per game while trailing by an average of 10.6 ppg in the losses. The Hornets are also 0-11 when trailing at the half and 10-1 when tied or leading at the break.

Sky Thompkins

Although the Hornets'' front court has struggled as a whole this season, senior power forward/center Cedric Thompkins has stepped up his game during Big Sky Conference play.

Including a career-high 22-point effort against Montana State, Thompkins is averaging 8.6 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game against conference competition. He also leads the squad with a .548 field-goal percentage (34-62), which included a 10-of-11 performance against Montana State and 9-of-13 vs. Portland State. Entering conference play, Thompkins was averaging 4.2 points on 46.8 percent shooting to go along with 4.4 rebounds.

Thompkins, who leads the team with two double-doubles this season (Dominican and Long Beach State), finished with 19 points against Portland State. In fact, the Hornets are 4-0 when Thompkins scores in double figures this season and 13-3 over the course of his career.

Against conference competition, Thompkins, who has at least 10 rebounds in three of his last six games, ranks among the top five league leaders in offensive rebounds (1st with 3.33 per game), field-goal percentage (3rd) and rebounds (fifth).

The Second Wave

Arguably the deepest squads in the Big Sky Conference, Sacramento State did nothing to dispel that theory as the team''s bench (non-starters) combined for 71 points in last Saturday''s win at Northern Arizona. The 71 bench points are the most by any team in the nation against a Div. I opponent this season. Only Boise State''s bench (75 points against NAIA opponent Eastern Oregon) has recorded more points in a game from their non-starters.

The Hornets'' bench is now averaging 33.9 points per game this season. The bench''s lowest production this year was 21 points at Stanford.

Head coach Jerome Jenkins has used 11 different players this season to the tune of at least 9.1 minutes per game. Jenkins has used six different starting lineups and nine different players have started at least one game this season. Leading the way for the bench has been senior Joseth Dawson''s team-leading 13.0 points per game. The bench is averaging just 3.3 points less per game than the team''s starters (37.2).

The point and shooting guard positions are the two deepest on the team. Sacramento State goes three deep at the point (DaShawn Freeman, E.J. Harris and James Payne) and four players have appeared at shooting guard for the Hornets (Dawson, Brandon Guyton, Joel Jones and Jameel Pugh) during the year.

Hornet Notables

Freshman power forward Alex Bausley has started the last two games, the first starts of his career...senior Brandon Guyton was held to just three points (1-of-2 from the field) at Eastern Washington, his lowest output since going scoreless against UC Riverside on Dec. 29...the Hornets have knocked down at least six three-pointers in all but four games this season and have a streak of 287-consecutive games with at least one three-pointer.

A Look At The Last Meeting

Cedric Thompkins scored a then season-high 19 points and Brandon Guyton chipped in a season-high tying 16 as Sacramento State defeated Portland State earlier this year in Sacramento.

Thompkins, who went 9-of-13 from the floor, was three points shy of his career high while also tallying five rebounds and two blocks. Guyton went 6-of-10 from the floor, including four assists, two steals and a game-high four three-pointers. The Hornets shot 45.9 percent (28-61) from the floor while also going 7-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Sacramento State broke open a tie game by going on a 13-3 run over a three-minute span of the second half to take a 50-40 lead with 12:52 remaining. A dunk by senior Joel Jones capped the run as the Hornets never led by anything less than nine points the rest of the way.

The Hornets forced 15 Portland State turnovers as sophomore DaShawn Freeman recorded a game-high three steals. Jones tallied eight points, five rebounds and three assists before fouling out of the game with 55 seconds remaining.

Portland State shot 47.1 percent (24-51) from the floor, but went just 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from the free-throw line. The Vikings, who were trailing, 30-26, at halftime, recorded only one steal during the entire game while allowing Sacramento State 46 points in the second half. PSU''s Antone Jarrell led all players with 20 points.

Sacramento State opened up a game-high 19 point lead (66-47) with 6:07 left in the game before Portland State ended the contest on a 17-10 run.

A Look At Portland State

• Portland State leads the Big Sky in field goal percentage defense (.424). A huge reason for that mark is the Vikings'' ability to block shots. The team has already tied its school record for blocked shots in a season (82) with four games remaining on the schedule. Portland State features two players (Blake Walker - fourth with 15.3 ppg, Seamus Boxley - sixth with 14.6 ppg) who rank among the Big Sky''s top six scorers.