The Hornets, who lost road games to Eastern Washington (83-57) and Portland State (69-65) last week, have just four games remaining on the schedule and currently sit in a sixth-place tie with Weber State in the Big Sky standings. The top six teams in the eight-member conference reach the Big Sky Tournament (March 6-10). With the exception of first-place Eastern Washington (who clinched the regular-season title last week), the rest of the Big Sky is a logjam as only 1.5 games separate the second-place teams (Northern Arizona and Idaho State at 5-5) and the last-place team (Montana at 4-7).

In fact, the Hornets are just one game out of second place and could host a first-round playoff game if they finish third or fourth in the standings. The first and second-place teams in the conference receive a first-round bye while the semifinals (March 9) and championship game (March 10) will take place in Cheney, Wash.

Sacramento State is 8-3 at home this season and have won three of its last four games inside the Hornets Nest, including victories over Portland State, Montana State and Montana. The Hornets have never defeated Weber State (home or away) as the Wildcats own an 18-0 all-time record against Sacramento State, including a 65-54 win in Ogden, Utah, earlier this year.

Weber State (11-12, 4-6) has lost three of its last four games, but is coming off a 17-point home victory over Montana State last Saturday. The Wildcats, who went 14-0 in Big Sky play last season, have a 3-6 record on the road. WSU is in jeopardy of not reaching the Big Sky Tournament for the first time since 1981.

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 36-71 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.

Last season''s Big Sky and District 13 Coach of the Year, Joe Cravens currently owns an 88-52 record in his fifth season at Weber State. Cravens, who has led the Wildcats to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, also was the head coach at Idaho (1993-96) and Utah (interim in 1989-90), and has a 143-105 overall record.

A Look at the Latest Action

Portland State’s Blake Walker scored a team-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and Sacramento State shot just 36.4 percent (20-55) from the field as the Vikings defeated the Hornets, 69-65, Saturday at the Stott Center.

Portland State dominated the glass, outrebounding the Hornets, 47-36, including 19 offensive rebounds. The Vikings did not shoot much better than the Hornets (.387, 24-62), but the rebounding disparity helped Portland State tally four more field goals than the Hornets. That proved to be the difference in the game as both teams had identical stats in three-pointers made (seven), free throws attempted (24), turnovers (18) and steals (10). Sacramento State converted 18 of those free throws (including 10-of-10 from senior Joseth Dawson), while Portland State went 14-of-24 from the charity stripe.

Dawson led all players with 22 points while senior Joel Jones added 14 points and a team-best nine rebounds, but shot just 5-for-17 from the field. Senior Cedric Thompkins tallied eight points and four rebounds as no other Hornet recorded more than seven points.

The Vikings had four players score in double figures, including Walker, Antone Jarrell (15 points), Seamus Boxley (13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds) and Will Funn (10 points). Sacramento State took brief leads at the 8:05 mark (19-18), the 4:28 mark (23-22) and the 1:22 mark (31-29) of the first half, but Portland State led for all but 4:32 of the contest (while never trailing during the second half).

After Sacramento State tied the game at 35-35 during the opening stages of the second half, Portland State went on a 10-0 run to take a game-high 10-point lead (45-35) with 14:58 to play. Walker and Jarrell both scored five points during the run. Sacramento State would get no closer than within three points the rest of the way. A field goal by Jones brought the Hornets within three points (68-65) with eight seconds remaining, but a free throw by Walker sealed the game.

A Look at the Hornets

Dynamic Trio

In the Hornets'' 110-97 victory over Northern Arizona on Feb. 7, 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.

Over the last four games, the trio has combined to score 194 of the Hornets'' 308 points (or 63.0 percent of the team''s output). During that four-game span, Dawson is averaging 19.3 points, Jones is averaging 16.3 points, and Pugh is averaging 13.0 points per game.

Dawson became the first Hornet to earn Big Sky Conference Player of the Week (Feb. 9) 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 currently leads the team with 18 double-figure games this season and 36 over 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 (113) and ranks second in free-throw percentage (113-131, .863). Dawson, who leads the team in scoring (13.4 ppg) despite not starting a game this season, already ranks third in program history with 213 career free throws while playing less than two seasons. Dawson has made 40 of his last 42 free-throw attempts (spanning six games), including a perfect 14-of-14 against NAU and 10-of-10 at Portland State.

After struggling for a good portion of the season, Pugh has been impressive over the last four games. His 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.

Besides averaging 13 points over the last four games, Pugh is also averaging 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 58.3 percent (21-36) from the field. Named the World''s Best Dunker in 2000 by Slam Magazine, Pugh has six dunks over his last four games.

Jones, who is the only Hornet to start all 23 games this season, leads the team with four 20-point games this season. During the last four games, Jones has made 19 appearances at the free-throw line (converting 14) after going to the free-throw line just 31 times during the first 19 games of the season.

Arguably the Hornets'' best all-around player, Jones ranks among the Big Sky''s top 15 (all games) in three-pointers per game (8th at 1.78), scoring (13th with 12.5 ppg), steals (tied for 13th with 1.04 spg) and 14th in three-point field goal percentage (14th at .373). In addition, Jones is playing a team-best 29.4 minutes per game while averaging 4.4 rebounds (third on the Hornets). The San Diego native has 105 field goals this year, 26 more than the closest Hornet (Dawson).

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 0-13 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 13 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 10.3 ppg in the losses. The Hornets are also 0-12 when trailing at the half and 10-1 when tied or leading at the break.

The Second Wave

Arguably the deepest squad in the Big Sky Conference, Sacramento State has done nothing to dispel that theory as the team''s bench (non-starters) combined for 71 points in the Hornets'' 110-97 victory 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 its 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 8.7 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 13.4 points per game. The bench is averaging just 3.1 points less per game than the team''s starters (37.0).

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.

Besides Dawson, the only players to not start a game this season for the Hornets are Payne, sophomore Nick Gooding and senior Djibril Diop.

Hornet Notables

Despite ranking third on the Hornets with an average of 10.0 points per game, senior shooting guard Brandon Guyton is averaging just 6.5 points over his last four games. He has knocked down just seven treys over his last four games, but still ranks second in the Big Sky with 2.78 three-pointers per contest...among Big Sky leaders (against conference competition only), senior forward/center Cedric Thompkins ranks second in offensive rebounds (3.20 per game), third in field-goal percentage (.552) and fifth in rebounding (6.9 per game)...since entering the starting lineup five games ago, junior point guard E.J. Harris is averaging 1.2 points per contest (including two points over his last five games)...senior center Tony Champion is averaging 3.5 minutes over his last two games and doesn''t have a field goal since scoring four points vs. Montana State on Jan. 29...the Hornets are being whistled for an average of 2.9 fouls per game more than their opponents...all 10 of Sacramento State''s wins have come by at least six points. They have lost games by one, three and four points...Joseth Dawson is just 33 career points shy of ranking fifth in Sacramento State Div. I history...the Hornets are being outrebounded by an average of 11.0 rebounds over the last two games...subtract Dawson, and the Hornets are shooting .605 (238-393) from the free-throw line.

A Look At The Last Meeting

John Hamilton scored a game-high 15 points and Lance Allred added 13 points and 11 rebounds to help lead Weber State to a 65-54 win earlier this season in Sacramento.

The Hornets rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to take a 35-32 lead on a Cedric Thompkins layup with 16:51 left in the second half. From that point, WSU went on a 21-7 run to claim a 53-42 edge with just under eight minutes to play. During the run, Weber State hit three three-pointers and received 10 points from Hamilton.

Sacramento State closed its deficit to five points (59-54) with 1:47 remaining on a jumper from freshman Alex Bausley, but could not pull closer.

Weber State controlled the majority of the first half, leading for 16:53 of the possible 20 minutes. Joel Jones was the lone Hornet to score in double figures (14 points) as the swingman connected on 6-of-12 field goals and made both of his free throw attempts. Senior Brandon Guyton buried three three-pointers to account for his nine points and Dawson also contributed nine. Thompkins led the squad with 10 rebounds.

As a team, Sacramento State shot 19-of-47 overall (.404). The team also struggled to find its range from both the three-point and free throw line. The Hornets were 4-of-13 (.308) from long range and 12-of-21 (.571) at the charity stripe.

The Wildcats made just 22-of-57 attempts (.386). The team did make 4-of-11 threes and converted 17-of-25 free throws (.680). Weber State also outrebounded the Hornets, 42-32, which resulted in 10 more field goal attempts.

A Look At Weber State

• Although Weber State ranks last in the Big Sky Conference in steals (5.00 per game), blocked shots (0.91) and field-goal percentage defense (.466), the Wildcats are still allowing just 66.3 points per game (tops in the conference). WSU has one of the Big Sky''s better players in Slobodan Ocokoljic, who leads the Wildcats in points (15.0 ppg), rebounds (7.0 rpg), free throws (106), steals (30) and blocked shots (six).