Sacramento State is in the midst of a stretch in which the team plays five of six games at home. The Hornets are currently 4-1 at home this year, with their only loss coming against Saint Mary''s on Dec. 11 (88-74).

UC Riverside is the Hornets'' fifth Big West Conference opponent this season as Sacramento State has won three of its first four against the BWC. The Hornets have defeated Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and Long Beach State, while falling to Cal Poly.

After losing a season-high four straight, the Hornets have won two of their last three games and enter the UC Riverside contest with a 5-6 record. That mark is the team''s best start after 11 games since the 1999-00 squad began the year 6-5. After tonight''s game, the Hornets travel to San Francisco on Saturday (Jan. 3) for their final non-conference game of the year. The team opens up Big Sky Conference play on Jan. 10 against Northern Arizona.

After opening the season with losses on the road to Loyola Marymount, Washington, Arizona State and UCLA, UC Riverside has won three straight (all at home), including an 83-71 victory over Saint Mary''s on Dec. 22. The Highlanders are winless on the road (0-4) and have lost each of those games by at least six points.

Meet the Coaches

Jerome Jenkins begins his fourth season at the helm of the Sacramento State basketball program. Since taking over a struggling team in 2000-01, the Hornets have improved their overall and conference records each season, including the program''s first-ever Big Sky Tournament appearance in 2002-03. He has posted a 31-64 record during his tenure as head coach.

Jenkins led last year''s team to the following Div. I single-season records: most wins (12), most road wins (six), most conference wins (five), first Big Sky win on the road, first Big Sky Tournament victory (at Montana), first Big Sky road win, and most Big Sky road wins (two).

The 36-year old coach came to Sacramento State prior to the 1999-2000 season and served as the team’s top assistant coach that year. Jenkins previously had worked two seasons as an assistant at Eastern Washington (1997-99). Prior to working at EWU, he spent four seasons at Diablo Valley College, where he was an assistant coach (1993-95) and associate head coach (1995-97).

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 CC. He then transferred to Regis University in Denver, Colo., where he played his final two seasons. While with the Rangers, he led the team in assists and steals, and was twice named all-conference.

John Masi is currently in his 25th season as the head coach at UC Riverside, the longest tenure of any Big West Conference head coach. Masi has a 445-237 overall record.

A Look at the Latest Action

Joel Jones had a game-high 21 points and Cedric Thompkins had a season-high 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead Sacramento State to a 73-51 victory over Long Beach State.

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.

Sacramento State never trailed during the entire contest as the 49ers (2-6) 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 LBSU’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.

A Look at the Hornets

Jo Jo Doing It All

Senior swingman Joel Jones currently ranks among the top 10 Big Sky Conference leaders in six different categories, including seventh in steals (1.36 spg), ninth in scoring (12.7 ppg), rebounding (5.4 rpg) and defensive rebounds (3.55 per game), and tied for ninth in both three-pointers made per game (1.82 per game) and blocked shots (0.64 bpg).

Jones has scored at least seven points in every game this season, including a career-high tying 25 points at New Mexico and a 21-point effort against Long Beach State. He has led or shared the team lead in scoring and rebounding three times this season, including a career-high nine rebounds at San Jose State. The San Diego native is averaging a team-best 29.7 minutes and 12.7 points per game, while ranking second on the team in rebounds and steals.

Jones has buried at least one three-pointer in every game this year and has a streak of 13-consecutive games dating back to the 2001-02 season. Jones redshirted last season along with fellow teammates Joseth Dawson, E.J. Harris and Jameel Pugh.

The Big Five

Sacramento State has five players averaging at least 8.2 points per game this season. The combination of Joel Jones (12.7 ppg, 9th in the Big Sky), Joseth Dawson (12.5 points, 10th in the Big Sky), Brandon Guyton (11.0 ppg, 19th in the Big Sky), Jameel Pugh (8.2 ppg) and Tony Champion (7.0 ppg) has led the team in scoring every game this season.

Other than those five players, no other Hornet is averaging more than 5.0 points per contest. Sacramento State is averaging 71.5 ppg (second in the Big Sky), as the big five is averaging 71.8 percent (51.4 ppg) of that output.

Foul Disparity

So far this season, Sacramento State has been whistled for 48 more fouls than the opposition (250-202). The Hornets have accumulated at least 19 fouls in all but two games, including a season-high 31 at New Mexico.

Head coach Jerome Jenkins has always stressed defensive intensity as the team ranks first in the Big Sky Conference in steals (8.82 per game) and second in blocked shots (3.45 per game). The team''s full-court presses and constant on-the-ball pressure get the Hornets into foul trouble often as the team is averaging 22.7 fouls per game.

he Hornets'' two largest foul disparity games also came against their two "biggest-name" opponents (New Mexico, 31-16; Oregon State, 23-9). In fact, Hornet opponents have been in the bonus in every half this season with the exception of the first halves against both Dominican and San Jose Christian, and the second half against LBSU.

Sacramento State players have already accounted for 11 disqualifications because of foul trouble, including DaShawn Freeman and Tony Champion (three times each).

Hornets In The Rankings

Sacramento State was selected to finish fifth in the Big Sky media poll, and sixth in the coaches poll this year. The predictions mark the highest preseason rankings the men''s basketball program has received since joining the league in 1996-97. Sacramento State had been picked last in both polls every year prior to this season. On Dec. 4 (with a 3-1 record), the Hornets were ranked 77th in the Sagarin ratings, the highest the program has ever been ranked since moving to Div. I in 1991-92. The team has now slipped to 182nd.

Raining Threes

A huge part of the Hornets'' offense this season has been the three-point shot. Sacramento State is currently averaging 8.27 three-pointers per game (second in the Big Sky) and has buried at least six in every game this season. The team has tallied 12 three-pointers on two occasions (against Cal State Fullerton and Oregon State), two away from the school record of 14, set against USC during the 1991-92 season.

Senior Brandon Guyton is leading the way as the Stockton, Calif., native is averaging 3.18 three-pointers per game (second in the Big Sky). The shooting guard has buried at least four three-pointers in five games this year, and has not been shy about shooting from behind the arc. Guyton attempted 10 threes against Cal Poly, 15 at San Jose State and 13 at Oregon State. He is shooting 38.0 percent (35-92, 10th in the Big Sky) from three-point land, which is almost identical to his overall FG% (.381, 40-105). In fact, all but 13 of his field-goal attempts this year have been threes.

A Look At The Last Meeting

Vili Morton scored 12 points, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and tied the UC Riverside record with seven blocked shots to lead the Highlanders to a 100-66 victory over Sacramento State on Dec. 27, 2001.

Morton was 6-of-7 from the floor as UC Riverside shot .619 as a team. He was joined in double figures by John Galbreath (17), Mark Miller (11), Lloyd Cook (10) and Aaron Hands (10). UCR also shot the ball well from long range as Galbreath and Miller combined to go 6-for-7 on three-point attempts and the team was 10-of-17.

Sacramento State shot just .389 overall, .273 from behind the arc and a dismal .292 from the free throw line. The Hornets made just seven free throws in 24 attempts.

Sophomore David Joiner came off the bench to lead the Hornets with 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Joseth Dawson was the only other Hornet in double figures. The junior tallied 10 points but was only 3-of-9.

The Highlanders'' frontline of Galbreath, Cook and Morton had little trouble as the trio scored 39 points. Sacramento State was forced to use a small lineup throughout the game due to the fact that starting forward Jimmy White did not make the trip due to strep throat.

A Look At The Highlanders

UC Riverside is 3-0 at home and 0-4 on the road. However, the Highlanders'' road record is a little misleading as the team has played stiff competition away from home (Loyola Marymount and Pacific-10 Conference opponents Washington, Arizona State and UCLA). UC Riverside defeated Big Sky Conference opponent Northern Arizona at home, 72-69, in overtime.

Nate Carter (17.0), Kevin Butler (13.0) and Vili Morton (12.3) have combined to average 42.3 points per game and a 54.1 field-goal percentage. Carter not only leads the team in scoring, but the 6-7 swingman also ranks second in field-goal percentage (.538) and rebounds (5.4 per game).

Who’s Up Next

• Sacramento State plays its last non-conference game of the season at San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m. The Dons are currently 8-5 and have won five of their last six games, including a 72-71 victory at Montana. USF is a perfect 5-0 at home.