A Brief Preview
Coming off a disappointing loss at Portland State on Friday, the
Sacramento State men's basketball team will attempt to right the ship
on Wednesday night against Cal State Northridge. The game against the
Matadors will mark the final time the two teams will meet in a
regular-season Big Sky Conference game. Cal State Northridge will
leave the Big Sky next season to compete in the Big West Conference.
Sacramento State enters the week with a 3-14 overall record and an
0-6 mark in league games. The Hornets are currently riding their
second seven-game losing streak of the season after falling, 81-77,
to the Vikings last week.
Cal State Northridge sits atop the Big Sky standings at 6-2. The team
is also 13-8 overall. CSN has won four of its last five games.
Meet the Coaches
After eight seasons as an assistant coach, including one with
Sacramento State, Jerome Jenkins takes over as head coach this year.
Jenkins became the 12th coach in the 52-year history of Hornet
basketball when he was named to the position on March 14, 2000.
The 33-year old coach served as the team's top assistant last season
and was credited with designing the squad's much improved defense.
Jenkins came to Sacramento State after serving two seasons as an
assistant at Eastern Washington. Prior to work at EWU, Jenkins spent
four seasons at Diablo Valley College.
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 C.C. He then transferred to Regis University
in Denver, Colo., where he played his final two seasons. While with
the Rangers, Jenkins led the team in assists and steals and was named
all-conference following both seasons.
Jenkins picked up his first career victory on Nov. 17 when the
Hornets topped Bethany College, 103-48. He currently has a 3-14
career record.
Cal State Northridge is coached by Bobby Braswell. In his fifth
season with the Matadors, Braswell has a 96-61 overall record.
A Look at the Latest Action
Seamus Boxley scored with 12 seconds left to lift Portland State to
an 81-77 victory over Sacramento State Friday evening at the Peter W.
Stott Center.
Trailing by one, 77-76, PSU's Dony Wilcher drove into the paint and
dished to Boxley on the block for an easy layup to put the Vikings
back on top. Boxley also drew a foul on the play and made the free
throw. Sacramento State had a chance to answer but Pablo Gonzales
forced a three-point attempt from the corner with 7.7 seconds left in
the game and PSU's Anthony Lackey corralled the rebound and was
fouled. Lackey made both free throws to seal the game for the Vikings.
Boxley's basket overshadowed two strong individual efforts from
Sacramento State. Seniors Rickie Glenn and Pablo Gonzales combined
for 51 of the team's 77 points in loss.
Portland State led by as many as nine points in the first half before
the Hornets stormed back to take a 43-39 halftime lead. Sacramento
State then stretched its lead to nine, 59-50, with 12:26 left in the
game. The Vikings then went on a 15-5 run to claim a one-point
advantage and the two teams then traded leads for the next four
minutes.
Portland State broke a 72-72 tie with a pair of free throws by Jabbar
Washington and extended its lead to three points with 2:53 left.
Gonzales scored on a jumper to pull the Hornets within one and made
another bucket to give Sacramento State a 76-77 advantage.
As a team, the Hornets suffered their first defeat of the year when
outrebounding their opponent (38-34). The team also shot well above
its season average by going 27-for-34 from the free throw line.
A Look at the Hornets
Senior Leadership
Sacramento State was guided by three seniors in the loss on Friday.
Rickie Glenn, Pablo Gonzales and Rame Batta combined to score 66 of
the team's 77 points and accounted for all the team's field goals in
the second half.
Glenn set a new career high with 27 points. The Sacramento, Calif.,
native was 9-for-18 from the floor and 9-of-14 from the free throw
line. Glenn also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Gonzales was not far behind with 24 points. The Folsom, Calif.,
resident was 8-of-18 from the floor including one three pointer. He
also made seven of eight free throw attempts and tied a season high
with five steals.
Batta chipped in with 15 points. The point guard was 8-for-15 from
the floor with a three-pointer. Batta also continued his spectacular
shooting from the free throw line where he was 6-for-6.
Back on Track
After having their team free-throw percentage dip to a season-low
.592 on Jan. 11, the Hornets have found their rhythm from the stripe
in recent weeks.
In the last four games, Sacramento State is shooting 74.0 percent
from the line. The streak began at Northern Arizona where the squad
was 7-of-10. It followed that effort with a 25-for-36 performance
against UC Riverside and a 12-of-16 showing at Eastern Washington.
Friday, the team was 27-of-34 at Portland State for a season-best
79.4 percent.
Helping lead the charge has been Batta and Gonzales. Batta has made
45 out of 48 attempts this season and currently ranks second in the
Big Sky and sixth in Division I.
Gonzales bolstered his percentage to 81.0 percent with a 7-of-8
effort at Portland State. The senior is shooting 89.5 percent in Big
Sky games and has made 26 of his last 28 attempts.
Record-Setting Performance
Two years ago Sacramento State avoided setting the NCAA Division I
record for consecutive losses when it defeated Montana at Memorial
Auditorium. Friday, the Hornets were unable to dodge another dubious
record as they lost their 35th-straight Big Sky Conference road game
to break the record held by Northern Arizona from 1987-88 to 1992-93.
Signs of the Times
Friday's loss almost marked another first for the season. The Hornets
grabbed 38 rebounds while Portland State collected 34 to mark the
first time that the team has outrebounded an opponent and lost.
Prior to Friday, Sacramento State was 3-0 when it grabbed more boards
and 0-13 when being outrebounded.
Other Notes
The 1,203 fans at the Stott Center in Portland, Ore., was a
season-high for the Vikings...the school also set a record by having
over 600 students in attendance...Friday's game marked the first time
in school history that the Hornets have played on Fox Sports
Northwest...Sacramento State has been ahead or tied with 10 minutes
to play in its last five games...the Hornet bench managed just four
points on Friday...PSU's nonstarters scored 27.
A Look at the Last Meetings
Brian Heinle, John Burrell and Jeff Parris combined for 78 points to
lead Cal State Northridge to a 95-82 victory over Sacramento State at
Hornet Gym.
The win improved the Matadors to 9-6 overall and 2-0 in the Big Sky
Conference. The Hornets fell to 3-9 overall and 0-2 in league games.
Heinle finished the night with 27 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
The senior center was 11-for-16 from the field including a perfect
3-of-3 from behind the three-point line. Burrell came off the bench
to score 27 points in 29 minutes. The transfer from Nevada was
8-of-11 from the floor and 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Parris
rounded out the trio with 24 points and nine rebounds. The senior
connected on 8-of-9 attempts from the floor and added seven free
throws.
Sacramento State attempted to answer behind a career-high 25 points
from Pablo Gonzales and a double-double by Arinze Anoruo. Gonzales
bounced back from a poor effort by shooting 8-of-14 including six
three pointers. Anoruo, who has been plagued by a pair of thumb
injuries, was one point off his career high with 17 points and set a
new career mark with a game-best 13 boards.
With the exception of a 4-4 tie, Cal State Northridge led the entire
game. The Matadors shot 69.6 percent from the field in the first half
and led, 48-36, at halftime. The Hornets closed the deficit to nine
points on three occasions in the second half but could never pull any
closer.
Overall, the Matadors outrebounded Sacramento State, 36-26. The
Hornets, however, were able to force Northridge into 21 turnovers and
record 14 steals.
A Look at the Matadors
Cal State Northridge has won four of its past five games including a pair on the road last week. The Matadors downed Montana State,
72-65, on Thursday before topping Montana, 74-65, on Saturday.
Senior Brian Heinle continues to prove a worthy Big Sky MVP candidate. Heinle leads the team and the conference with 20.3 points
and 8.9 rebounds per game. The center has led CSN in scoring on 12
occasions and in rebounding 14 times.
Transfer John Burrell and senior Jeff Parris rank second and third on the team with 15.3 and 14.9 ppg, respectively.
The Series
With its win against the Hornets earlier this season, Cal State Northridge now holds a 24-6 lead in the all-time series. The Matadors
have defeated Sacramento State in each of the past seven meetings.
Who's Up Next
Sacramento State returns to Hornet Gym on Saturday when its hosts Idaho State. The Bengals have won the past seven meetings against the
Hornets and own an 11-4 edge in the all-time series.
Big Sky Notes
Cal State Northridge's Brian Heinle was named Big Sky Player of the Week. Heinle averaged 17.0 points and 14.0 rebounds in the Matadors'
wins against Montana and Montana State. This is the fourth time this
year that Heinle has earned the award.
