Coming off a week in which the team lost on a last-second shot (57-55 at Weber State) and won on a shot at the buzzer (99-97 overtime victory at Idaho State), the Sacramento State men''s basketball squad embarks upon its final homestand of the 2004-05 season. The Hornets (9-15, 5-6) open the brief homestand this Thursday, Feb. 17, against Montana (12-11, 6-4) at 7:05 p.m. Sacramento State has won seven of its last eight games at home, and recently had its program-record eight-game home winning streak against Big Sky competition snapped in a loss to Portland State (71-66) on Feb. 5.

Thursday night''s contest can be heard locally on KTKZ 1380 AM with Steve McElroy handling the play-by-play. For those outside the greater Sacramento area, the contest will also be broadcast live via the internet at www.hornetsports.com, by clicking on the Live Audio link and scrolling down to the men''s basketball schedule.

With a 5-6 conference record, Sacramento State is all alone in fourth place in the conference standings, one-half game ahead of both Weber State (5-7) and Eastern Washington (4-6). If the season ended today, the Hornets would host a Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal game as the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the conference host a first-round game. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive a first-round bye.

Sacramento State needs just two victories to clinch its third-consecutive Big Sky Tournament appearance as the team is two games ahead of both Northern Arizona (3-8) and Idaho State (3-8) with only three games remaining. The top six teams in the eight-member Big Sky reach the conference tournament. The Hornets, who already own the tiebreaker over Idaho State, could also clinch a spot in the tournament on Thursday with a win over Montana and a Northern Arizona loss to Montana State.

Jason Harris'' last-second lay-up against Idaho State on Saturday helped ease the pain of a highly controversial last-second loss against Weber State on Thursday. The victory was the Hornets'' first on the road this year in 13 tries as the team had lost three of its last four Big Sky road games by three points or less prior to Saturday night''s win.

Sacramento State is currently 8-3 at home this season and 18-7 over the last two years at the friendly confines. The Hornets defeated Montana last season in Sacramento by the score of 76-67, but are just 3-17 against the Grizzlies in the all-time series. Should Sacramento State defeat Montana on Thursday, the Hornets would be just a half game back of the third-place Grizzlies. Sacramento State''s highest seed in the Big Sky Tournament was No. 4 last season after finishing with a 7-7 conference record.

Montana has won five of its last seven games to catapult itself into third place in the league standings. The Grizzlies, however, have struggled on the road this season (3-9), including a 72-62 loss at Montana State on Sunday. The Grizzlies are looking for their first winning season in three years as the team went 10-18 last year and 13-17 during the 2002-03 season. Senior forward Kamarr Davis has led the team in points in five-consecutive games.

Meet the Coaches

Jerome Jenkins is currently in his fifth season at Sacramento State. Since taking over a struggling program in 2000-01, the Hornets have improved their overall and conference records each season (5-22, 2-14 in 2000-01; 9-19, 3-11 in 2001-02; 12-17, 5-9 in 2002-03; and finally 13-15, 7-7 last season).

Jenkins, who has led the Hornets to the Big Sky Tournament each of the last two years, has a 47-87 record during his tenure as head coach. In 2003-04, he led the Hornets to numerous Div. I program records including most wins (13), most conference wins (seven), highest finish in the Big Sky Conference (tied for second), best winning percentage (.481), most home victories (10), most conference wins at home (five) and the most bench points in a game (71 at No. Arizona).

The 37-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. While with the Rangers, he was twice named all-conference.

Former Montana star basketball player Larry Krystkowiak was named head coach of the Grizzlies on May 13, 2004. Krystkowiak became Montana''s 25th head coach, replacing Pat Kennedy. A nine-year player in the NBA, Krystkowiak was the head coach of the Idaho Stampede of the CBA last season. Prior to Idaho, he was an assistant at Old Dominion (2001-02) and Montana (1998-00).

A Look at the Hornets'' Last Game

Sacramento State’s Jason Harris took a baseball pass from Jameel Pugh and scored a lay-up as the buzzer sounded to give the Hornets a 99-97 overtime victory over Idaho State on Saturday.

The Hornets, who won for the first time in 13 chances on the road this season, were playing without head coach Jerome Jenkins, who was suspended for the game by the Big Sky in the aftermath of Thursday night’s loss at Weber State. Assistant coach Zac Claus handled the head coaching duties for the Hornets in Saturday''s game.

After a free throw by Logan Kinghorn put Idaho State up two points (97-95) with 25 seconds to play in the extra session, the Hornets’ DaShawn Freeman drove the lane and scored an acrobatic lay-up to tie the game with 14 seconds remaining. Idaho State retook possession of the ball and Kinghorn’s three-pointer fell off the mark (0:04) and Jameel Pugh grabbed the rebound, and threw the length of the floor to Harris, who converted a contested lay-up (which rolled twice around the rim before finally falling in) as time expired.

Three Sacramento State players scored at least 20 points, comprised of Pugh (game-high 24 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals), Harris (21 points, five rebounds and a game-high four steals) and junior Chris Lange (career-high 20 points and eight rebounds). Lange, whose previous high was 14 points, forced the extra session by knocking down 1-of-2 free throws with three seconds left in regulation.

The game featured 19 ties and 16 lead changes as no team led by more than seven points during the entire contest. The Hornets, who also received a double-double from sophomore Alex Bausley (15 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds), shot 42.9 percent from the floor (30-70) and 35.3 percent (12-34) from the three-point line. Six Idaho State players scored in double figures.

A Look at the Hornets

Harris Leading The Charge

Not only has junior swingman Jason Harris made a case for Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors, the first-year player from Chaffey Junior College is now making a statement as one of the league''s top players. Harris, who is third in the league in scoring (17.6 ppg) and second in scoring against Big Sky competition (20.7 ppg), ranks among conference leaders (all games) in scoring, rebounding, steals, assists, blocked shots, offensive rebounds, free throws, free throws attempted and free-throw percentage. That includes second in offensive rebounds (2.43 per game) and free throws attempted per game (7.9), third in steals (2.1 spg) and 11th in rebounding (4.8 rpg).

He has scored at least nine points in all but one game this season and has posted double-figure points in each of his last 12 games. In addition, he has scored at least 21 points in six of the last eight games.

The Henderson, Texas, native has led or shared the team lead in scoring 16 times and already has nine games with at least 20 points.

With 10 more free throw attempts at Idaho State, Harris now has 182 this season, breaking the Sacramento State Div. I (1991-pres.) record of 177, set last season by Joseth Dawson. Harris attempted a Div. I record 19 free-throw attempts on Feb. 5 against Portland State and is on pace to finish with 206, one more than the program single-season record of 205 (set in 1965-66 by Lynn Livie). He is also on pace to convert 148 free throws, which would rank as the top Div. I single-season mark and place him second in program history.

On his current pace, Harris, who missed the William Jessup game with the flu, would also finish the regular season ranked among the top four players in Sacramento State Div. I history in points (458, 2nd), field goals (147, 3rd), and steals (55, 4th). His average of 17.6 points per game would rank just below Charlo Davis'' Div. I season record of 18.0 ppg (set in 1991-92). Harris is also averaging a team-high 33.8 minutes per game.

Pugh Named to ESPN''s Slam Dunk Contest

On Friday, it was announced that senior Jameel Pugh will represent Sacramento State in ESPN’s 17th-Annual College Slam Dunk and Three-Point Championship.

The competition will take place on Thursday, March 31, in St. Louis at a site to be determined. It will be televised that night from 9-11 p.m. EST on ESPN, and will air several additional times throughout the weekend. The event will consist of the top eight dunkers from around the nation as Pugh was the first contestant to be invited. The competition, which leads into the Final Four weekend, will also feature the top eight men’s and women’s three-point shooters.

Pugh, who is the first Sacramento State player to participate in the annual competition, is currently averaging 13.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. The 6-5, 225-pound child development major has established himself as one of the nation’s top dunkers during both his high school and college playing days.

The Sacramento, Calif., native was named the World’s Best Dunker in 2000 by Slam Magazine. He was also named the 33rd-best dunker of all time by the same publication. Prior to transferring to Sacramento State in 2002-03, Pugh played two seasons at UMass where he won both Midnight Madness slam dunk competitions.

Despite scoring just four points at Weber State last Thursday, Pugh, who earned his first-ever Big Sky Conference Player of the Week award on Jan. 31, is averaging 21.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 4.8 three-pointers per game over his last six contests. He is also shooting 47.2 percent (42-89) over that span from the field and 47.5 percent (29-61) from three-point range.

Pugh has found his touch from the outside during the torrid stretch after converting just 12 three-pointers during his first 15 games of the season.

In the Hornets'' win over William Jessup, Pugh scored a Sacramento State Div. I (1991-pres.) single-game record 40 points to go along with a career-high four steals. He went 15-of-22 from the field and 8-of-13 from beyond the three-point arc. He also set Sacramento State Div. I records for field goals made. His 40 points were the third most in school history and the most by any member of the Big Sky this year.

Pugh has scored in double figures in 11 of his last 13 games, and ranks fifth in the Big Sky in scoring and fourth in scoring against conference competition (15.6 ppg).

Through his first 11 games of the season, Pugh was shooting a woeful 29.1 percent (37-127) from the field while averaging 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game. However, Pugh has dramatically improved those numbers over his last 10 games. During that span, the Sacramento native is averaging 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 45.3 percent (63-139) from the field and 42.9 percent (33-77) from beyond the three-point line.

Pugh''s season thus far is very similar to last year in which he averaged 11.8 points and 1.8 steals on 51.0 percent shooting over his final 12 contests. During his first 16 games of the 2003-04 season, he averaged 7.4 points and 0.8 steals on 37.7 percent shooting.

Home Sweet Home

As much as the Hornets have struggled on the road this year (1-12), the team has more than held up its end of the bargain at home. Sacramento State is 8-3 at home this year, and just had its seven-game home winning streak snapped on Feb. 5 against Portland State. The Hornets had also won a program-record eight-straight Big Sky home games dating back to last season prior to the Portland State loss.

Below is a breakdown of the Hornets'' home-road disparity, including the team averaging 74.3 points per at home compared to just 62.0 on the road.

Home Away

Points Per Game 74.3 62.0

Points Allowed Per Game 68.5 75.3

Field-Goal Percentage .418 .356

Three-Point Percentage .360 .285

Free Throw Attempts 26.3 19.8

Rebounds Per Game 37.5 33.8

Turnovers 14.7 16.4

Forced Turnovers 19.2 17.8

Assists Per Game 14.3 9.1

Steals Per Game 11.0 8.7

Fouls Per Game 20.3 25.4

Good Bye Shooting Slumps

Through the first 15 games of the season, it appeared Sacramento State would never find its shooting touch. In fact, the Hornets were shooting just 35.7 percent from the field, 28.8 percent from behind the three-point line and 63.4 percent from the free-throw line during that 15-game stretch which saw the team go 4-11.

However, the Hornets have been a much different squad over the last nine games, shooting at least 40.0 percent from the field seven times after doing so just four times through the first 15 games. During the last nine games, the team is shooting 43.0 percent (229-533) from the floor, 36.7 percent (77-210) from the three-point line and 70.7 percent (162-229) from the charity stripe. Not coincidentally, the team is 5-4 over the nine-game stretch, a marked improvement over the team''s 4-11 record through the first 15 contests.

M.V.-Free

Along with Jason Harris, junior point guard DaShawn Freeman has been one of the most valuable players on Sacramento State''s roster this year. Freeman, who is nearly healed from a two-month bout with a hamstring injury, is averaging 13.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game over his last five contests. That includes a performance against Northern Arizona on Jan. 29 where the Oakland, Calif., native tallied a career-high 27 points to go along with five rebounds and seven assists.

Although he only had five points at Idaho State, two of those points came with 14 seconds left in overtime to tie the score at 97-97. He also had a career-high 10 assists, breaking his previous high of nine, achieved on numerous occasions.

He currently ranks among the top six Big Sky leaders in four different categories (all games). Those include first in steals (and 19th in the nation with 2.62 spg), and fourth in assists (4.58 apg), free-throw percentage (.780) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.49).

Freeman has scored in double figures five times in his last seven games after accomplishing the feat six times during his first 17 games.

Playing the best basketball of his Hornet career, the 5-11, 170-pound point guard is averaging career highs in points (9.0 ppg), rebounds (3.3 rpg), assists, steals, three-pointers (20), free throws (71) and free throws attempted (91).

Earlier this year, Freeman became the Sacramento State Div. I (1991-pres.) career leader in both assists (304) and steals (182). In Sacramento State program history, Freeman now ranks second in steals and fourth in assists. The program record for steals is 210, set by Pat Wallace (1989-93).

Freeman is not the only player that thrives under head coach Jerome Jenkins’ defensive intensity. As a team, the Hornets have led the Big Sky in steals each of the last four years, and easily lead the conference with 9.75 per game this year. A total of three Hornets currently rank among the top nine Big Sky leaders in steals, including Freeman, Jason Harris (third with 2.13 per game) and Jameel Pugh (ninth with 1.29).

A Changed Man

One season removed from a year in which he averaged just 2.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game, sophomore forward Alex Bausley has grown leaps and bounds this season. The Los Angeles native is now averaging 10.5 points (third on the Hornets) to go along with a team-leading 5.3 rebounds per game.

Bausley has a team-best four double-doubles this season, including 15 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday''s win at Idaho State. In addition, the 6-6, 235-pound second-year player moved up to sixth in the Big Sky in rebounding.

Bausley, who dropped 35 pounds from his playing weight of 270 last season, has scored in double figures 14 times this season (including seven of the last 10 games) and has led the team in scoring seven times. The sophomore paces the team with 43 three-pointers and is averaging 1.79 made per game (ninth in the Big Sky).

A Look at The Last Meeting

Four Montana players scored in double figures – led by Matt Dlouhy’s 16 points – as the Grizzlies defeated Sacramento State, 84-72, on Jan. 22, 2005, at Dahlberg Arena.

Montana closed the game on a 7-0 run as the Hornets were held scoreless over the final 1:52 of the contest. The 12-point margin of victory for the Grizzlies was also their largest lead of the game as Sacramento State trailed by just four points (71-67) with 3:56 to play and five points (77-72) with 1:52 remaining.

The Hornets, who led by as many as nine points (24-15 with 10:47 left) in the first half, were led by Jason Harris’ game-high 26 points. The junior swingman went 11-of-17 from the field. Senior Jameel Pugh (5-of-10 from the field) and junior DaShawn Freeman (4-of-10 from the field including two three-pointers) each had 15 points to round out the Hornets with double figures in points.

Dlouhy scored eight of his 16 points in the final five minutes of the contest. The Grizzlies were leading, 66-65, when Dlouhy hit a three-pointer with 5:05 to play. Montana would eventually outscore Sacramento State, 18-7, down the stretch.

Montana was able to take advantage of a large foul disparity that saw the Grizzlies go to the free-throw line 41 times compared to just 16 free-throw attempts for the Hornets. Montana easily reached the double bonus from the free-throw line in both halves as the Hornets were whistled for 26 fouls.

The Hornets shot 45.6 percent (26-57) from the floor while Montana shot 55.3 percent (26-47). Every Montana starter shot at least 50 percent from the field with the exception of Dlouhy (5-of-11).

Joining Dlouhy in double figures for Montana were Matt Martin (13), Andrew Strait (13) and Kevin Criswell (10). After missing the previous eight games due to academic ineligibility, Montana’s Kamarr Davis finished with nine points in 24 minutes of action.

A Look at The Grizzlies

• Montana has been successful during Big Sky play because of its sharp shooting (.475) and its rebounding ability (averaging 4.3 more than the opposition). The Grizzlies have four players shooting at least .500 during Big Sky play, led by freshman forward Andrew Strait (.600, 42-70).

• After missing eight games because of academic ineligibility, senior forward Kamarr Davis has averaged 18.5 points since his return six games ago, and has led the Grizzlies in scoring in five-straight contests.

Who’s Up Next

Sacramento State concludes its regular-season portion of the home schedule on Saturday, Feb. 19, against Montana State. The Hornets have defeated the Bobcats at home five-consecutive years with each win coming by at least six points. Prior to the start of the game, Sacramento State seniors Jameel Pugh and E.J. Harris will be honored for their contributions to the program.