SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Former Stanford standout Kris Weems scored a team-high 20 points to lead the Olympic Club to a 79-68 victory over Sacramento State in an exhibition game Wednesday evening at the Hornets Nest. The contest marked the first exhibition game of the season for the Hornets.Weems burried a game-high six three-pointers while also tallying six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sacramento State shot just 32.4 percent (24-74) from the filed and committed 17 turnovers in the loss. A total of four Olympic Club players tallied double-figure points comprising Weems, Brian O’Connor (14), A.J. Rollins (13) and Paul Braso (12).
The Olympic Club, which is made up of former Div. I and II basketball players, broke open a 47-47 tie by going on a 12-2 run in the second half to take a 59-49 lead with 12:45 to play. Sacramento State closed to within seven points on a three-pointer by Joseth Dawson with 10:55 to play, but that was as close as the Hornets would get the rest of the way.
Sacramento State shot 30.8 percent (12-39) from the field in the second half and was outscored, 40-32. The Olympic Club’s Dan Haller grabbed eight of his game-high 14 rebounds in the second half.
The Hornets were led by Dawson’s 20 points while seniors Cedric Thompkins (13 points, eight rebounds) and Joel Jones (11 points, three steals) also scored in double figures. Junior Jameel Pugh added seven points, eight rebounds, five assists, one blocked shot and one steal. Only one Hornet (Thompkins) shot above 50.0 percent from the field during the game.
The Hornets shot 16.1 percent (5-31) from beyond the three-point line as Dawson led the team with three three-pointers.
Sacramento State plays its second and final exhibition game against EA Sports on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 7:05 p.m. in the Hornets Nest. The team opens the regular season at Stanford on Saturday, Nov. 22.