The Hornets are currently in a four-way tie for second place in the conference standings with Montana, Montana State and Northern Arizona. Sacramento State, which has already matched its most wins in Div. I history (1991-pres.) and surpassed its record for most wins in the Big Sky, could finish anywhere between second and seventh place in the conference standings. Sunday''s game will mark the final contest of the Big Sky regular season as the Hornets and Bobcats will both know prior to the contest what is at stake should each team win or lose.

Sacramento State lost at Montana (80-69) on Wednesday and is now just 2-11 on the road this season. That includes a 1-5 mark against Big Sky teams, including losses in each of the last three conference road games (Eastern Washington, Portland State and Montana). The Hornets, however, have thrived at home, going 10-3 overall and 5-2 against conference competition. The 10 home victories are the most in the team''s Div. I era.

Sacramento State''s record assures the team will improve its overall and conference record every year since head coach Jerome Jenkins took over the program in 2000-01. The Hornets began Jenkins'' tenure by going 5-22, 2-14 in 2000-01, and have improved to 9-19, 3-11 in 2001-02, 12-17, 5-9 in 2002-03 and 12-14, 6-7 this season.

Montana State (14-12, 6-7) snapped a two-game losing streak on Wednesday after beating Northern Arizona, 67-62, in Bozeman, Mont. The Bobcats are 9-4 at home this year, including a 3-2 record against conference competition. Including a 77-71 victory earlier this year in Sacramento, the Hornets have defeated Montana State three-straight times and four of the last five meetings (dating back to the 2001-02 season).

A Look at the Latest Action

Montana’s Kamarr Davis led all players with 24 points and 15 rebounds while Sacramento State shot just 34.8 percent (23-66) from the field as the Grizzlies topped the Hornets, 80-69, on Wednesday night at the Adams Center.

Davis, who nearly tallied a double-double in the second half alone (nine points and nine rebounds), shot 6-of-12 from the field and 11-of-16 from the free-throw line. The Grizzlies went to the free-throw line 33 times, converting 24 of those opportunities. Montana also shot 46.6 percent (27-58) from the field while committing just eight turnovers. After knocking down six three-pointers in the first half, the Hornets went just 2-of-12 (.167) from beyond the arc in the second half as Montana outscored Sacramento State, 42-31, after both teams were tied (38-38) at the break.

After Sacramento State took a brief one-point lead (41-40) at the beginning of the second half on a Joel Jones three-pointer, the Grizzlies cracked off a 10-0 run (including six points from Victor Venters) to take a 50-41 lead with 15:21 remaining in the contest. The Hornets quickly responded with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to three points (50-47), but that was as close as the team would get the rest of the night. Montana’s 11-point margin of victory was also its largest lead of the game as the Hornets shot just 32.3 percent (10-31) from the field in the second half while missing 12 of their final 13 three-point attempts.

Jones led four Hornets in double figures as the senior swingman finished with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Jameel Pugh (11 points, seven rebounds), Joseth Dawson (11 points) and DaShawn Freeman (10 points, three assists) also scored in double figures. Alex Bausley finished with five points and a career-high nine rebounds (including a team-best four on the offensive glass) in just 18 minutes.

Joining Davis in double figures for Montana were Venters (19 points, 8-of-9 shooting) and Roy Booker (16 points, 7-of-10 shooting). Montana’s trio of Davis, Venters and Booker combined for 59 of the team’s 80 points.

A Look at the Hornets

Bench Bomber

If there was a sixth-man award in the NCAA Div. I ranks, one would think that senior shooting guard Joseth Dawson would have a very good shot at winning the honor.

The Fontana, Calif., native has led or tied for the team lead in scoring in five of the last six games and is averaging 22.0 points over that span. Dawson, who started his first game of the season vs. Idaho State because it was Senior Night, is leading the team in scoring (14.4 ppg overall and 16.5 ppg against Big Sky competition).

He was just named Big Sky Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks after combining for 55 points (27.5 per game) and 11 three-pointers last week.

In his second season with the Hornets, the shooting guard has shown an incredible knack for getting to the free-throw line during his career. This season is no different as he leads the Big Sky with 131 free throws while ranking third in free-throw percentage (.845). Earlier this season, he knocked down 22-straight free throws (spanning three games), including a 14-of-14 performance at Northern Arizona. Despite playing less than two seasons, his 231 career free throws rank third in program history.

Dawson tied his career high with 30 points in the Hornets'' win at Northern Arizona (Feb. 7), and topped that with a career-best 32 at home against Weber State. The 32 points were exactly half of the Hornets'' output (64) in the game. The shooting guard''s 16.5 ppg average against Big Sky competition is the league''s fourth-best mark. Although Dawson''s season field-goal percentage of .358 is nothing to brag about, he has made up for it by getting to the free-throw line an average of 6.0 times per game.

Final Five Minutes Don''t Mean Much

So far this season, Sacramento State is a perfect 12-0 when leading a game with five minutes remaining in the second half. That includes last week''s against Weber State in which Sacramento State held a 54-52 advantage with five minutes left. However, the Hornets are 0-14 when trailing with five minutes left in a game.

In the Hornets'' losses, the team has trailed by at least three points with five minutes to play in each of the 14 defeats. In the 12 victories, the Hornets have been leading by an average of 12.9 points while trailing by an average of 10.1 ppg in the losses. The Hornets are just 1-12 when trailing at the half and 11-2 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 (nonstarters) 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 nonstarters.

Despite getting a season-low 18 points from the bench in Wednesday''s loss at Montana, the Hornets'' nonstarters are still averaging 33.5 points per game. Prior to the Montana game, the bench''s lowest production of the year had been 21 points at Stanford.

Head coach Jerome Jenkins has used 11 different players this season to the tune of at least 10 minutes per game. Jenkins has used eight different starting lineups (see page 7) and all but three players (James Payne, Djibril Diop and Nick Gooding) have started at least one game. In fact, Jenkins has used a different starting lineup in three of the last four games.

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 Payne) and four players have appeared at shooting guard for the Hornets (Joseth Dawson, Brandon Guyton, Joel Jones and Jameel Pugh) during the year.

Pugh Becoming A Factor

When Sacramento native Jameel Pugh transferred to Sacramento State from UMass prior to last season, anticipation was high to see what type of impact the guard/forward could have on the program. A gifted athlete who had a reputation for his leaping ability, Pugh was ranked by Slam Magazine as the World''s Best Dunker in 2000.

Through the first 18 games of the season, Pugh was averaging 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting just .386 from the field. After starting the first seven games of the season, head coach Jerome Jenkins not only stripped Pugh of his starting role, he drastically reduced his minutes, including a season-low six against Long Beach State.

However, over the last eight games, Pugh has shown glimpses of what made him a McDonald''s All-America candidate out of Sacramento''s Grant High School. Over the seven-game stretch, Pugh is averaging 11.1 points, 6.4 rebounds (including 2.9 offensive rebounds), 1.8 steals and 4.0 free-throw attempts per game while shooting 50.0 percent (32-64) from the field.

Those numbers include a career-high tying 22 points at Northern Arizona (Pugh dropped in 22 against Fordham when he was playing for UMass). Jenkins inserted Pugh back into the starting lineup against Weber State and he responded with nine points, 11 rebounds (five on the offensive glass) and two steals. He also started Wednesday''s game at Montana and is will probably start against Montana State as well.

After being nonexistent among Big Sky leaders for much of the season, Pugh now ranks among the conference''s top 15 players in rebounding, field-goal percentage, steals and offensive rebounds.

Hornet Notables

Senior Joel Jones tallied a team-best 18 points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds against Montana, becoming the third Hornet to record a double-double this season. Among conference leaders (all games), Jones now ranks among the top 15 in seven different categories (scoring, rebounding, steals, three-pointers made per game, three-point field-goal percentage, blocked shots and offensive rebounding)...senior Brandon Guyton remains the Big Sky''s top three-point threat, averaging 2.85 per game. The senior has knocked down at least two three-pointers in all but five games...sophomore point guard DaShawn Freeman''s 10 points at Montana was just his fourth double-digit scoring game this year...freshman Alex Bausley tallied a career-high nine rebounds at Montana...the Hornets have never finished higher than sixth place in the Big Sky standings since joining the league in 1996.

A Look At The Last Meeting

Cedric Thompkins scored a career-high 22 points and James Payne provided a much-needed spark off the bench as the Hornets defeated Montana State, 77-71, earlier this year in Sacramento.

Thompkins’ output came on 10-of-11 shooting as the senior also added seven rebounds. The Hornets erased an eight-point deficit (50-42) with 9:22 to play, as the team went on an 18-3 run spanning 5:12 of the second half to take a commanding seven-point lead (60-53) with 4:10 left.

Payne entered the game at the 9:20 mark and sparked the Hornets’ run. The Detroit native hit a three-pointer to give the Hornets the lead while also grabbing a rebound and dishing out one assist during the team’s pivotal run.

Sacramento State iced the game by going 12-of-14 from the free-throw line over the final 2:21, including a perfect 4-for-4 from both Joseth Dawson and Brandon Guyton. The Hornets, who never trailed during the entire first half, scored 35 points over the final 10 minutes of the contest.

The Hornets began the second half with a 28-22 advantage and quickly stretched the lead to seven points (29-22) on a Tony Champion free throw. Montana State then went on a 28-13 run to take a game-high eight-point lead at 50-42. The Bobcats’ Jason Erickson scored 16 of the team’s points during the run and scored 22 second-half points after tallying two points during the first half.

Sacramento State responded with its run, which included back-to-back three-pointers from Guyton and Payne. Dawson hit a three-pointer at the 2:40 mark to give the Hornets a team-high tying nine-point lead (65-56) with 2:40 remaining.

A Look At Montana State

• Montana State features one of the top players in the Big Sky Conference in senior guard Jason Erickson. The Eagle River, Alaska, native ranks among the Big Sky''s top five players in scoring (17.3 ppg), field-goal percentage (.526), free-throw percentage (.860), steals (2.42) and three-point field-goal percentage (.477). The Bobcats lead the Big Sky in turnover margin (+2.96).