Jones finished 9-of-19 from the field while the swingman also tallied six rebounds, three assists, one blocked shot and one steal. Thompkins’ 14 points and 12 rebounds all came in the second half as the power forward also had two blocked shots and seven offensive rebounds. Sacramento State shot 41.5 percent (27-65) from the field, 75.0 percent (12-16) from the free-throw line and forced Long Beach State into 16 turnovers.

With the victory, the Hornets improved to 5-6 overall this season and 3-1 against Big West Conference teams. Sacramento State also defeated Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine while losing to Cal Poly. In addition, the Hornets improved to 4-1 at home. Long Beach State, which had just defeated Loyola Marymount on Tuesday, dropped to 2-6 with the loss.

Sacramento State never trailed during the entire contest as the 49ers missed eight of their first nine shots of the game allowing the Hornets to take a 13-2 lead with 15:21 remaining in the first half. Long Beach State closed to within four points of the Hornet lead (33-29) with 25 seconds left in the half before Jones hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Sacramento State a 36-29 halftime advantage.

The 49ers closed to within five points of the Hornet lead (46-41) with 12:12 remaining in the contest, but Sacramento State went on an 8-0 run to take a commanding 13-point lead (54-41). Sacramento State never led by anything less than 11 points the rest of the way as the team’s 22-point margin of victory was also the largest lead of the game. The Hornets outscored the 49ers, 37-22, in the second half as the 22 second-half points were Long Beach State’s lowest output of the season.

Jones and Thompkins were the only Hornets in double figures as seniors Joseth Dawson (nine points, three-pointers) and Brandon Guyton (eight points, two three-pointers) combined for five of the Hornets’ seven three-pointers in the contest. Senior Tony Champion tied his career high with nine rebounds (eight in the first half) and sophomore DaShawn Freeman led all players with six assists. Sophomore Chris Lange added a season-high tying seven rebounds as the Hornets outrebounded Long Beach State, 43-39. For Thompkins, the game marked his second double-double of the season (he had 12 points and 10 rebounds against Dominican).

The 49ers were led by Kevin Roberts’ 13 points and 13 rebounds as no other player scored more than seven points for Long Beach State. Cody Pearson added four points, eight rebounds and one steal for a Long Beach State team that shot 36.7 percent (22-60) from the field and just 30.0 percent (3-10) from the free-throw line.

Sacramento State has now scored 70-plus points in four of its last five games. The Hornets return to action on Monday, Dec. 29, as they take on another Big West Conference foe (UC Riverside). Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Hornets Nest. After the UC Riverside contest, the Hornets play one more non-conference game (at San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 3) before opening up Big Sky Conference play at home against Northern Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 10.