The Hornets, who used a furious 19-6 run over a four-minute span late in the second half, dropped to 14-12 overall and 5-7 in the Big Sky. After beginning the season with a 13-5 overall record and a 4-0 conference mark, Sacramento State has now dropped seven of its last eight games. Six of those seven losses have come by six points or less. The Hornets have had a chance to tie or take the lead with the last possession in five of the defeats, but have combined to shoot 0-for-7 from the field during those final possessions.

This time, a three-pointer from junior Clark Woods capped the 19-6 run and drew the Hornets within one point of Montana’s lead (80-79) with 11 seconds remaining. Sacramento State immediately fouled Kevin Criswell on the inbounds pass and Criswell converted both free throws to put the Grizzlies up three points with 10 seconds left. On the final possession, the Hornets set up a play for freshman Loren Leath (who scored a season-high 26 points last Saturday against Idaho State), but his contested three-point attempt fell off the mark. Criswell grabbed the rebound and made two free throws with two seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.

After a timeout was called by Sacramento State with 1:57 to play, the officials were called over to the scorers table and the game was delayed. Sacramento State was trailing, 75-70, at the time, but had a point taken away from its score after the meeting at the table concluded. That made the score 75-69, and the Hornets then had to overcome a six-point deficit.

Prior to Leath’s miss on the final possession, Sacramento State received back-to-back three-pointers from Alex Bausley (0:17) and Woods (0:11) to give the Hornets a chance. The Grizzlies’ 14-point lead (74-60 with 4:11 remaining) was their largest of the night and Sacramento State’s four-point lead early in game (4-0) was its largest lead.

A dunk from sophomore Jason Gilzene gave the Hornets their only lead of the second half (54-53) with 11:32 remaining. However, Montana’s Matt Martin, Matt Dlouhy and Criswell, respectively, hit three-pointers on back-to-back-to-back possessions to begin a 21-6 run that gave Montana its 14-point lead with a little over four minutes remaining. The Grizzlies would never trail the rest of the way as Sacramento State could only close to within one point.

With just two games left on the regular-season schedule, the Hornets remain in fifth place in the Big Sky standings, one game ahead of Weber State (4-8), who lost at home to Eastern Washington tonight by the score of 76-73. The Hornets still control their own destiny in the team’s quest for a fourth-consecutive Big Sky Tournament appearance as the top six teams in the eight-member league reach the postseason event. Sacramento State will take the next 10 days off before it faces Northern Arizona (18-7, 10-1) in the final home game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Hornets, who wrap up the regular season on Feb. 27 at Montana State, will clinch a tournament berth with one more victory and an Idaho State loss.

With the win, Montana improved to 18-5 overall and 8-3 in the conference. The Grizzlies are currently in second place, a game and a half behind first-place Northern Arizona (10-1).

Sacramento State had four players score in double figures, comprised of Bausley (20 points, 10 rebounds, 7-of-13 shooting), senior Jason Harris (16 points, 12 rebounds), Freeman (12 points, seven rebounds) and sophomore Jason Gilzene (career-high 10 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes). The double-doubles were the third of the season for both Harris and Bausley.

Sacramento State shot 40.6 percent (28-69) from the floor and outrebounded the Grizzlies, 47-41. That snapped a string of 14-consecutive games in which the Hornets had been outrebounded by the opposition.

The Grizzlies’ duo of Criswell (28 points, eight rebounds, 9-of-9 from the free throw line) and Andrew Strait (25 points, 10 rebounds, 10-of-18 shooting) combined to score 53 of Montana’s 84 points. Strait continued to shred the Hornets as he posted nearly identical numbers in the teams’ earlier meeting this year (25 points, nine rebounds). Dlouhy (13 points, six rebounds) also had double figures for Montana.

The statistics were nearly identical in many categories but Montana (23-for-34) was able to make five more free throws than the Hornets (18-for-26). That five-point disparity in free throws was also final outcome of the game.

Sacramento State’s game with Northern Arizona could loom large for the Hornets’ quest for a Big Sky Tournament spot. Should the Hornets defeat NAU, they would regain the tiebreaker over both Weber State and Idaho State. Currently, Sacramento State does not have the tiebreaker over both teams, but a victory over first-place Northern Arizona would give the Hornets the tiebreaker over both.