MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYS SECOND END OF BACK-TO-BACK TONIGHT AT IDAHO STATE

1/30/2010

GAME PREVIEW

Sacramento State (7-15, 1-8) will conclude its season-long four-game road trip on Saturday, Jan. 30, at Idaho State (6-14, 3-5)...tip at Reed Gym is 6:05 p.m. PST...the game will serve as the second of a grueling back-to-back trip that saw the Hornets lose at Weber State on Friday night by the score of 81-59...by the time Saturday night’s game begins, the Hornets will have had less than 24 hours to prepare for Idaho State because of Friday night’s game against Weber State...meanwhile, Idaho State had six days to prepare for the Hornets as the Bengals’ last game was an 88-80 overtime win over Portland State last Saturday...Sacramento State has dropped a season-high five straight and eight of its last nine games...however, over that nine-game stretch, five of those eight losses have come by five points or less...that included a 75-71 loss at Northern Arizona last Sunday in the Big Sky Altitude Game of the Week...the Hornets have played nine games this year that have been decided by five points or less (3-6 in those contests) after playing just one that was decided by less than seven points during the entire 2008-09 season...Sacramento State is 3-10 away from home this year (2-9 on the road, 1-1 at neutral sites) after combining to go 2-45 outside of Sacramento the previous three seasons...Sacramento State will be looking to get a big monkey off its back as the team has dropped 27 straight Big Sky road games dating back to Dec. 30, 2006, a 74-70 win at Northern Colorado...Idaho State has won its last two games and could easily be riding a three-game winning streak if not for a triple-overtime home loss to Weber State on Jan. 16...Saturday’s game completes a season-long four-game homestand for the Bengals...Idaho State, which has played in two home facilities, is 3-0 in Reed Gym this year and a combined 7-0 at Reed during head coach Joe O’Brien’s four-year tenure...the Bengals are 23-11 all-time against the Hornets, including a 12-5 mark in Pocatello...however, Sacramento State defeated Idaho State on Dec. 19 (64-63) at the Nest for its lone conference win of the year...in that game, freshman John Dickson scored a season-high 19 points on his 19th birthday, and Sacramento State shot 6-of-7 from the free throw line during the final 30 seconds to preserve the win...Saturday night’s game can be heard live locally on KRJY 1240 AM, and on the internet via www.hornetsports.com with 13th year play-by-play announcer Steve McElroy calling all the action...live video of the game is available and free via www.bigskytv.org, and live stats will be offered at www.isubengals.com.

For Sacramento State's complete set of game notes, click on the link above the story.