Ethington scored 19 of his points in the second half, including 11 of 14 from the foul line as the Anteaters improved to 2-2 on the season.  Swingman Ross Schraeder scored 14 points and Shamar Armstrong added 10 in 18 reserve minutes.  Patrick Sanders pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds and added three blocked shots.

With the loss, Sacramento State begins the season 1-4 for the first time since the 2001-02 season. The Hornets have lost three in a row, and play three of the next four games away from home.

 

Junior Jason Harris scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds for Sacramento State, which led 29-28 at halftime.  Junior guard DaShawn Freeman added 12 points and three steals, and sophomore Alex Bausley tallied 11 points off the bench.

 

Bausley''s three-pointer gave Sacramento State a 47-42 lead with 12:20 remaining in the game before the Anteaters rallied to take the lead for good at 54-52 on a layup by Darren Fells with 9:10 left.  UCI gradually pulled away, building a 14-point lead of 73-59 with 2:13 remaining and 79-65 with 56 seconds left. The Anteaters hit 12-of-17 free throws in the final 5:43 of the game.

 

The Hornets built their halftime lead on the strength of 13 offensive rebounds to UCI''s three in the opening 20 minutes.  Each team finished the game with 41 boards apiece.  The Anteaters shot 48.9 percent (22-45) from the field in the game, including 51.9 percent in the second half. 

Sacramento State shot 31.5 percent for the game, which featured 51 fouls and 69 free throws between the teams.  UCI hit 31-of-41 free throws, including 22-of-30 in the second half. Conversely, the Hornets went to the free-throw line just 28 times, knocking down 19 of those opportunities.

The Hornets’ Jameel Pugh continued to struggle from the field, knocking down just 3-of-16 shots. Over his last three games, the senior is shooting just 20.0 percent from the field (9-of-45) and 12.5 percent (2-of-16) from the three-point line while the Hornets have gone 0-3 over that span.

Sacramento State attempted 18 more shots from the field than UC Irvine (73-45), but could not overcome the poor shooting percentage. The Hornets have now shot less than 33.0 percent from the field in three-consecutive games.

Sacramento State returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 7, as the team welcomes San Francisco to the Hornets Nest at 7:05 p.m. After Tuesday’s game, the Hornets do not play at home again until hosting Great Falls on Dec. 22.