The Sacramento State men's basketball team will conclude its two-game

road trip with a matchup against the Wildcats of Weber State on

Saturday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. PST. The Hornets travel to Ogden, Utah,

after suffering a 98-82 loss at Montana State on Thursday.

The Hornets enter the week with a 4-18 overall record and an 1-10

mark in the Big Sky Conference. Weber State currently sits at 12-11

overall and 7-6 in Big Sky games. The Wildcats have lost four of the

their last five games including a 66-63 decision at Montana on

Thursday.

The game will be broadcast on KTKZ 1380 AM with Steve McElroy calling

the action. The contest can also be heard via www.hornetsports.com.

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 4-18

career record.

Weber State is coached by Joe Cravens. In his third year with the

Wildcats, Cravens has posted a 30-21 overall record. He also owns an

85-73 overall mark in five years as a collegiate head coach.

A Look at the Hornets

For the second-consecutive season, Rame Batta and Pablo Gonzales have

each been ranked in the top five in the Big Sky in steals. The pair

have 48 and 46 swipes this season, respectively, and are moving in on

the top 10 in school history.

Batta moved into third place last season with 57 steals and is

currently on pace for 60 thefts in 2000-2001. The current record is

held by Pat Wallace who tallied 65 steals in 1989-90. Wallace also

ranks fifth and ninth on the list as well as owning the career record

with 210 steals.

Gonzales sits in seventh place on the single season list with 51

steals in his junior season. The Folsom, Calif., native is on pace

for 56 steals this season.

Both Batta and Gonzales are on pace to end just shy of the career top

five. Damond Edwards occupies the fifth spot with 123 steals from

1992 to 1997.

Based on history, the odds of Sacramento State winning at Weber State

are about zero. The Hornets have squared off against the Wildcats 11

times and have yet to post a victory. Couple that with the fact that

Sacramento State has still yet to win a Big Sky road game since

joining the league five years ago and you have a recipe for a

one-sided affair.

Weber State has been far from a gracious host over the past four

visits to the Dee Events Center. WSU won, 97-66, in 1996-97, 89-54,

in 1997-98, 91-50, in 1998-99 and 82-62 last season.

After a two-game stretch in which he scored just seven points, Rame

Batta has become one of the team's top scorers. The senior tallied 19

points in both games against Montana State and also scored seven with

eight assists against Montana.

Arinze Anoruo keeps on rolling. While the junior does nothing flashy,

he has produced a team-leading five double-doubles this year. Anoruo

added to his tally against Montana with 10 points and 12 rebounds

against the Griz. The South San Francisco, Calif., native padded his

lead as the Big Sky's top offensive rebounder with six offensive

boards.

Four of Sacramento State's last seven losses have come by less than

five points. The Hornets lost to UC Riverside by one, at Portland

State by four, vs. Idaho State by four and against Montana by one.

The team has also led or been tied with less than 10 minutes to play

in 10 of its last 12 games including the matchup at Montana State on

Thursday.

Jim Brewer, Jr. returned to the lineup after missing the Montana game

due to bronchitis...Brewer was the fifth Hornet player to miss a game

to due injury/health this season...freshman Tony Champion doubled his

previous career high with eight points at MSU...Champion also grabbed

a career high five rebounds in just nine minutes of action...Anouro

had his three-game streak of 10-plus points snapped when he tallied

just four on Thursday.

Weber State opened an 11-point lead in the first half and then

overcame a one-point deficit in the second period en route to an

81-70 victory over Sacramento State on January 11.

Sophomore guard Jermaine Boyette was a key to WSU's success. Boyette

scored 26 points after shooting 7-of-13 from the floor and 12-of-15

from the free throw line. He was joined in double figures by Damon

King and sophomore Patrick Danley with 11 each. Danley also paced

Weber State on the glass with a game-high 16 rebounds.

Sacramento State attempted to answer with the inside play of senior

Rickie Glenn. The forward was 9-of-16 from the field and 7-of-10 from

the line for 25 points.

Weber State led, 24-13, with 7:10 to play in the opening period. From

that point, the Hornets went on a 20-10 run, including Troy Selvey's

tip-in at the buzzer, and trailed by one at intermission.

Sacramento State opened the second half with a three-point play by

Glenn and led, 36-34, with 19:36 left. The Wildcats responded by

building a six-point lead on three occasions before the Hornets

rallied again. Behind a pair of baskets by Glenn and a three-pointer

by Rene Jacques, Sacramento State built a 52-51 lead with just under

10 minutes to play in the game.

Weber State battled back and made the most of its opportunities from

the charity stripe and second-chance points. The Wildcats made

29-of-43 free throws in the game and collected 13 offensive rebounds

on way to a 42-35 total advantage on the glass.

A Look at the Wildcats

is now 8-3 at home this season.

Newcomer of the Year Award. Boyette leads the team with 13.3 points,

4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

averaging 12.7 points over the past three games. Bachmann tallied 10

against Eastern Washington, 16 vs. Portland State and 12 at Montana.

He also grabbed 4.7 rebounds during those games.

Weber State has never lost to the Hornets and owns a 11-0 lead in the

all-time series. The Wildcats also dominate Sacramento State at the

Dee Events Center, winning by an average of 31.85 points in the past

four meetings.

Sacramento State returns home for its final two home games of the

season. The Hornets face Portland State on Thursday, Feb. 22, before

hosting Eastern Washington on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Eastern Washington's Jamal Jones and Northern Arizona's Cory Schwab

were named co-Big Sky Players of the Week. Jones scored a career-high

19 points to lead EWU to an 81-70 win at Weber State. Schwab scored

26 points with seven threes in the team's win at Idaho State.