With the Hornets trailing, 60-59, with 3:10 to play, Sacramento State received back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Loren Leath and junior Clark Woods to give the team its largest lead of the game at five points (65-60) with 2:17 to play. Montana State cut the lead to two points on three occasions, but a jumper from Bausley (0:42) and four clutch free throws from senior DaShawn Freeman at the 0:11 second mark and at the 0:06 mark put the game away. Montana State’s Ja’Ron Jefferson hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to provide the one-point margin of victory for Sacramento State.

Joining Bausley in double figures for the Hornets were Leath (13 points, four rebounds), Freeman (12 points, five assists and two steals) and sophomore Justin Williams (career-high 12 points, four rebounds, two blocked shots and 5-of-8 shooting from the field).

With the victory, Sacramento State (15-14) snapped a five-game losing streak and advanced to the Big Sky Tournament semifinals, which begin on Tuesday, March 7, in Flagstaff, Ariz. Montana State was eliminated from the tournament with the loss. The Hornets will face top seed and host Northern Arizona in the semifinal round on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. PST. Sacramento State, which has advanced to the tournament each of the last four years, will be making its second appearance in the semifinal round.

During the 2002-03 season, Sacramento State beat Montana in Missoula, Mont, during the quarterfinals before falling at Weber State in the semis. In fact, the only team the Hornets have ever lost to in the tournament is Weber State (0-3), which failed to reach this year’s postseason event. Sacramento State is 1-0 against both Montana and Montana State. With a win on Tuesday, the Hornets will make their first appearance in the Big Sky Tournament championship game on Wednesday, March 8, at 6:30 p.m. PST. That game will be aired live on ESPN2.

In the Big Sky Tournament''s other quarterfinal game, Eastern Washington defeated Portland State in Cheney, Wash., to advance to the semifinal round along with Sacramento State. Eastern Washington will take on Montana on Tuesday at 4 p.m. PST.

After losing nine of their last 10 games (including seven of those losses by six points or less), Sacramento State finally came out as the victor of the end of a close game. The Hornets had lost both regular-season meetings to Montana State before today’s victory.

The game remained close throughout, featuring 12 ties and 13 lead changes. Montana State’s largest lead of the game was seven points (on one occasion in both the first and second halves). Sacramento State’s largest lead was five points after Woods’ back-breaking three-pointer with 2:01 to play.

Sacramento State shot 40.4 percent (23-57) from the field while scoring two points on each of its last three possessions. The Hornets knocked down six three-pointers in the game, including 4-of-10 from beyond the arc in the second half. The Hornets forced 15 Montana State turnovers as Sacramento State finished with 10 steals. The Hornets also shot 70.4 percent (19-27) from the free-throw line compared to the Bobcats converting just 25-of-40 attempts (62.5 percent).

Montana State had six players score at least eight points, but just two in double figures (12 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals from Jefferson, and 10 points from Marvin Moss). The Bobcats shot 41.3 percent (19-46) from the field, but their struggles from the free-throw line proved to be too tough to overcome.