The Sacramento State men''s basketball squad (1-7) concludes its season-long three-game road trip on Monday, Dec. 20, at UC Riverside. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:05 p.m. at the Student Rec Center on the UC Riverside campus. The Hornets'' road trip has seen the team play at Fresno State (Dec. 11) and Saint Mary''s (Dec. 17). In fact, six of Sacramento State''s first nine games are on the road.

Like every game this season, Monday''s contest can be heard locally on KTKZ 1380 AM with Steve McElroy handling the play-by-play. For those outside the greater Sacramento area, the contest will also be broadcast live via the internet at www.hornetsports.com, by clicking on the Live Audio link and scrolling down to the men''s basketball schedule.

Playing with an active roster of just 10 players, including seven newcomers, Sacramento State has lost six straight and hasn''t won since a 74-67 home victory over Southern Utah on Nov. 22. The Hornets are 0-5 on the road this season, and have lost each of those games by at least 12 points, including its worst defeat of the season (73-38) against Saint Mary''s on Friday.

Either sophomore Alex Bausley or junior Jason Harris has led the team in scoring in all but one game (Jameel Pugh had 25 points against Southern Utah) this season. When trying to find a reason for the Hornets'' struggles early this season, one only has to look at the team''s field-goal percentage. Sacramento State is shooting just 32.7 percent (166-507) as a team from the field and 29.4 percent (45-153) from beyond the three-point arc. In each of the Hornets'' seven losses, the team has failed to shoot anything better than 36.6 percent from the field.

UC Riverside, which hasn''t played since falling at Arizona State on Dec. 12, will enter Monday''s contest with a 3-3 record. The Highlanders are undefeated at home this year (2-0) with a 79-72 victory over Loyola Marymount and a 102-60 win against Cascade College. The Hornets defeated the Highlanders, 66-55, last year in Sacramento.

Meet the Coaches

Jerome Jenkins is currently in his fifth season at Sacramento State. Since taking over a struggling program in 2000-01, the Hornets have improved their overall and conference records each season (5-22, 2-14 in 2000-01; 9-19, 3-11 in 2001-02; 12-17, 5-9 in 2002-03; and finally 13-15, 7-7 last season).

Jenkins, who has led the Hornets to the Big Sky Tournament each of the last two years, has a 40-80 record during his tenure as head coach. In 2003-04, he led the Hornets to numerous Div. I program records including most wins (13), most conference wins (seven), highest finish in the Big Sky Conference (tied for second), best winning percentage (.481), most home victories (10), most conference wins at home (five) and the most bench points in a game (71 at No. Arizona).

The 37-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.

This year marks the 26th at the helm of the UC Riverside program for head coach John Masi. A Riverside, Calif., native, Masi has posted a 456-253 overall record during his tenure with the Highlanders. Masi has suffered the only four losing seasons of his career over the last four years. In his previous 21 years, his team''s worst finish had been a .500 showing in 1980-81.

A Look at the Last Game

Brett Collins scored a game-high 18 points and Daniel Kickert added 12 to lead Saint Mary’s to a 73-38 victory over Sacramento State Friday evening at McKeon Pavilion.

The Gaels shot 44.6 percent (25-56) from the floor while Sacramento State shot a season-low 24.6 percent (14-57) as the team had trouble all night getting into the scoring column. The Hornets also went just 6-of-16 from (37.5 percent) from the free-throw line.

Collins’ 18 points came with seven rebounds while Kickert also added seven boards. Paul Marigney (10 points) rounded out the Gaels with double figures in points as Saint Mary’s also outrebounded Sacramento State, 42-38.

Sacramento State was led by Alex Bausley’s 11 points as each of the sophomore’s points came in the first half. That snapped a string of five-consecutive games in which Jason Harris has led the Hornets in scoring. Harris finished with nine points, and junior DaShawn Freeman finished with five points, four assists, two steals and a team-high seven rebounds.

Both teams exchanged baskets early on until a three-pointer from Bausley gave the Hornets their first and only lead of the night at 8-7 with 13:55 to play. A little later in the half, Saint Mary’s used a 9-0 run to extend a 13-12 lead to 22-12 with 8:46 to play. The Hornets got a lay-up from Aaron Perry to stop the bleeding, but the Gaels then went on a 9-4 to run to close the half and entered the break with a 31-19 lead.

Eight of Saint Mary’s first 13 points of the game came after offensive rebounds as the Gaels controlled the glass (21-14) during the first stanza. Bausley scored 11 of the Hornets’ 19 points during the half, including three three-pointers.

Saint Mary’s opened the second half on a 9-4 run and took a 40-23 lead with 16:27 to play. The Hornets closed to within 13 points (40-27) after a three-pointer from Harris and a free throw from Freeman, but that was as close as the Hornets would get the rest of the night. The Gaels added a 16-0 run midway through the second half to put the game out of reach.

A Look at the Hornets

Harris Leading The Way

One bright spot for the Hornets during the team''s six-game skid has been the play of junior swingman Jason Harris. The junior college transfer has led the team in points in five of the six games, and is averaging 15.8 points per contest during that span.

Also over the last six games, Harris has shown the ability to get to the free-throw line often, knocking down 30-of-39 opportunities (.769) and averaging 6.5 trips to the line per game. Including his first double-double of the season (24 points, 11 rebounds) against UC Davis, Harris has averaged 6.2 rebounds per game over the last six games as well. Of those 37 rebounds, 22 have come on the offensive glass. In fact, Harris'' average of 3.25 offensive rebounds per game ranks second the Big Sky Conference.

Harris has scored at least nine points in every game this year, and is currently leading the Hornets in points (113), points per game (14.1), rebounds (43), rebounds per game (6.0), offensive rebounds (26), free throws (38), free throws attempted (51) and minutes per game (32.6).

He has attempted at least four free throws in every game, including a 13-of-14 effort against UC Davis. On his current pace (6.4 trips to the line per game), Harris would finish the regular season with 173 free-throw attempts. That mark would rank second in the Sacramento State Div. I single-season (1991-pres.) record book.

Among Big Sky leaders, Harris already ranks among the top 10 leaders in five different categories, including third in scoring, fourth in steals (1.5 per game), and eighth in both rebounding and free-throw percentage (.745).

Scoring is nothing new for Harris. While at Chaffey Junior College last year, he averaged 19.7 points per game. Harris also added 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists that same season.

Getting Plenty of Attempts

Amazingly, in each of Sacramento State''s seven losses this season, the team has attempted more shots from the field that its opponent. That includes an 81-69 loss at UC Irvine in which the Hornets attempted 73 shots from the floor, compared to just 45 for UC Irvine.

Against both San Francisco and Fresno State, the Hornets attempted 20 more shots from the floor. So far this year, Sacramento State has attempted nearly 100 more shots (507-410) than its opponent, yet has tallied 26 less field goals.

All the missed shots have helped the Hornets record almost as many offensive rebounds (147) as they have on the defensive end (166). In fact, Sacramento State''s average of 18.4 offensive rebounds per game easily leads the Big Sky Conference.

Second-Half Struggles

While Sacramento State has played well in the first halves of games this season (being outscored by just 0.25 points per game), the team has struggled in the second half (being outscored by an average of 12.0 points).

The second-half disparity problems loomed large against Fresno State as the Hornets were outscored by 25 points in the second stanza after entering halftime with a seven-point lead. In fact, the Bulldogs opened the second half on a seemingly impossible 29-2 run. Fresno State went from shooting 29.2 percent in the first half, to a 68.0 percent

clip in the second half.

The Hornets have also been outscored in the second halves by Michigan (18 points), Southern Utah (11), UC Davis (14), UC Irvine (13) and Saint Mary''s (23).

Against UC Davis on Dec. 1, Sacramento State failed to score during the final 6:30 of regulation, allowing the Aggies to send the game into overtime. After outscoring UC Davis in the first half by a big margin (29-15), the Hornets were outscored in the second period, 41-27.

Not only was the team outscored by 14 points in the second half against UC Davis, the Hornets were then outscored by nine points (16-7) in the overtime session.

The Hornets, who trailed by just three points at halftime against Michigan, were outscored, 36-18, in the second half. After taking an 18-point lead into halftime (39-21) against Southern Utah, the Hornets were outscored in the second half, 46-35.

Sacramento State has outscored its opponent in the second half only two times this year: Long Beach State (five points) and San Francisco (three points). In those games, the Hornets were outscored in the first half by 19 points (Long Beach State) and eight points (San Francisco).

Already Thin Roster Gets Thinner

Senior Jameel Pugh, who entered the season as arguably the team''s top returner from last year, has missed the past two games with a stress fracture in his right foot that began to develop prior to the start of the season. Pugh could miss one more week with the injury as the transfer from UMass has been wearing a walking boot since Dec. 9.

The Sacramento, Calif., native is third on the team, averaging 10.7 points per game to go along with 4.0 rebounds. Like many of his teammates, Pugh, who was named by Slam Magazine as the World''s Best Dunker in 2000, had struggled to find his shooting touch during the first six games of the season. Despite averaging double figures, Pugh was shooting just 26.6 percent (21-79) from the field. This comes one season after ranking third on the Hornets in field-goal percentage (.440).

The loss of Pugh leaves Sacramento State even more short-handed as the team had already been playing without the services of two of its returners (junior forward Chris Lange and senior point guard James Payne). Both Lange and Payne are not eligible to return to the lineup until early January.

Sacramento State''s active roster features just 10 players, seven of which are newcomers and playing their first seasons of Div. I basketball. Of the seven newcomers, four are freshmen and the other three are junior college transfers.

Hornet head coach Jerome Jenkins has been forced to use three different starting lineups through the first eight games of the season. Currently, the Hornets are starting a freshman (Schuyler McKay) and a sophomore (Alex Bausley).

Master Thief

Earlier this season, junior DaShawn Freeman became the Sacramento State Div. I (1991-pres.) career leader in steals. The Oakland, Calif., native now has 148 career steals in just over two-plus seasons. Overall, Freeman just moved into second place on the all-time list at Sacramento State. The overall record of 210 is held by Pat Wallace from 1989-93.

Freeman began his collegiate career with a school-record 70 swipes in 2002-03 and added 49 last season.

With two more steals against Saint Mary''s, Freeman already has 29 (3.6 per game) this season and currently ranks sixth in the nation in that category. He is now on pace to finish the year with 97. He had a five-game stretch where he finished with five, four, seven, three and five steals, respectively, earlier this season.

Freeman is not the only player that thrives under head coach Jerome Jenkins’ defensive intensity. As a team, the Hornets have led the Big Sky in steals in each of the last four years. Last season, the Hornets averaged 8.57 per game, easily the top mark in the conference.

Also last year, Sacramento State never finished with less than four steals in a game, and tallied double figures nine times. That included a 15-steal performance against Cal Poly and 14 steals vs. Weber State.

This season, Sacramento State is averaging a Big Sky Conference-leading 9.25 steals per game, including a season-high 14 against UC Davis. In addition, the Hornets are forcing the opposition into an average of 19.6 turnovers per game.

A Changed Man

During the offseason, sophomore forward Alex Bausley dedicated himself to a conditioning program that saw him shed 35 pounds from his peak weight last season of 270 pounds.

While Bausley''s weight has dropped, his stats have dramatically improved from last year. Eight games into the season, Bausley is averaging 10.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. That includes his first career double-double against Southern Utah in which the Los Angeles native tallied 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. In each of the eight games this season, Bausley has been at least the team''s third-leading scorer. He has scored seven points or better in every game, including double figures against Southern Utah, UC Irvine (11 points), San Francisco (career-high 19 points) and Saint Mary''s (11 points).

A first team all-state selection out of Los Angeles’ Fairfax High School, Bausley averaged just 2.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game last season. He now averages 31.5 minutes and leads the team with 17 three-pointers (2.1 per game). His 17 three-pointers easily surpasses his production from all of last season behind the three-point arc (nine made over 28 games).

So far, Bausley has been the most deadly of Hornets from three-point land, as he is shooting at a 42.5 percent (17-40) clip. In fact, his three-point percentage is substantially better than his output inside the three-point line (.320, 16-of-50).

Shooting Woes

Of the Hornets'' top five scorers, Alex Bausley has the best shooting percentage (36.7 percent). Among Sacramento State players with at least 10 field-goal attempts, junior Aaron Perry (14-for-29, .483) is the only player shooting better than 36.7 percent from the floor.

Sacramento State has shot less than 30.0 percent from the floor on three occasions (.297 at Long Beach State; .290 at Fresno State; .246 at Saint Mary''s). The Hornets'' shooting percentage and number of points (38) against Saint Mary''s was the team''s lowest output since shooting 20.4 percent and scoring just 35 points against San Francisco on Dec. 4, 1999.

Whistle Heavy

In just eight games, Sacramento State has already been whistled for 204 fouls, or an average of 25.5 per game. Moreover, the Hornets have been whistled for 54 more fouls than the opposition (150), and teams have reached the double bonus from the free-throw line in 13 of the 16 halves against the Hornets.

Consequently, Sacramento State''s opposition has gone to the free-throw line 234 times (29.3 per game), converting on 168 of those opportunities (.718). Conversely, the Hornets have gone to the charity stripe just 160 times, knocking down 103 of their opportunities (.644).

Sacramento State has committed more than 20 fouls in every game except one (19 against Southern Utah), including a season-high 31 at UC Irvine.

Hornet Notables

Sacramento State''s 1-7 record is the team''s worst after eight games since the 1998-99 squad began the year 0-8...junior Aaron Perry is shooting 66.7 percent (4-6) from beyond the three-point arc, but is 0-for-10 from the free-throw line...junior DaShawn Freeman''s 13 field-goal attempts at Saint Mary''s were a career high...freshman Randy Adams has nine points in his last two games after combining for zero point through his first six games of the season.

A Look at The Last Meeting

Four Hornets scored in double figures, led by Joseth Dawson’s game-high 15 points, as Sacramento State defeated UC Riverside, 66-55, on Dec. 29, 2003, at the Hornets Nest.

Joining Dawson in double figures for the Hornets were Chris Lange (11 points, and a game and career-high 10 rebounds), Joel Jones (11 points) and E.J. Harris (10 points). For Lange, the double-double marked the first of his career as the Albuquerque, N.M., native finished 4-of-7 from the field.

Sacramento State used an early 10-0 run, highlighted by dunks from Jones and Lange, to jump out to a 16-8 lead with 12:52 remaining in the first half. UC Riverside responded with a 9-2 run to cut the Hornet lead to one point (18-17) with 9:27 left in the first half. The Highlanders, however, would get no closer the rest of the way as Sacramento State led by at least two points during the entire second half.

Sacramento State shot 43.1 percent (25-68) from the field and outrebounded UC Riverside, 40-33. Four Hornets finished with at least five rebounds, including Tony Champion (six) and Jameel Pugh (five).

UC Riverside, which was paced by Rickey Porter’s 13 points, threatened late in the game, cutting the Hornets’ lead to four points (55-51) with 5:07 remaining. However, the Hornets responded as a Harris lay-up, a Dawson tip-in and a jumper by Jones pushed the Sacramento State lead back to 10 points (61-51) with 2:18 to play.

A Look at The Highlanders

• UC Riverside, which will be playing for the first time since losing at Arizona State on Dec. 12, is averaging 72.5 points per game this season. More than 40 percent of that production has come from two players (Rickey Porter 15.3 ppg, and Vili Morton 15.0 ppg, team-high 9.5 rpg).

• The Highlanders have started the same five players in all six games this year (Porter, Morton, Steve Williams 11.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg; Klaus Schille 4.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg; Brett Ost 4.2 ppg, 1.3 rpg). No player averages more than 30 minutes per game.

Who’s Up Next

• Sacramento State returns home for the first time since facing San Francisco on Dec. 7, as the team welcomes Great Falls (Great Falls, Mont.) for a 7:05 p.m. tipoff. The game is one of just three home contests remaining on Sacramento State''s non-conference schedule.