The Hornets, who had an eight-point lead (54-46) with 9:42 remaining in the game, had a chance to tie, but Alex Bausley’s desperation three-pointer fell off the mark as time expired. For Montana State, the victory snapped a four-game losing streak against the Hornets dating back two years. MSU, which improved to 9-8 overall and 4-0 in the Big Sky, entered the game with just seven victories in the last 10 meetings against Sacramento State dating back five years.

Sacramento State dropped to 5-12 and 2-3 in the conference, and has now lost all 10 of its games on the road this season. However, each of the Hornets’ last two losses on the road (including 44-41 at Eastern Washington on Jan. 8) have come by just three points.

In his first game of the season, Sacramento State junior forward Chris Lange had a team-high tying 13 points to go along with five rebounds and two steals. Lange’s third three-pointer of the game gave the Hornets their largest lead of the night at eight points (54-46). However, Montana State quickly responded with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to two points with 7:28 left. No team led by more than four points the rest of the way as both squads exchanged baskets.

Ja’Ron Jefferson, who had a game-high 17 points, eventually hit two free throws at the 3:42 mark and another with 3:07 remaining to give the Bobcats a 62-60 lead. A put-back by Lange tied the score at 62-62 with 1:56 to play. On Montana State’s next possession, Nick Dissly slammed home Jefferson''s errant runner in the lane to put MSU back on top, 64-62, with 1:46 left.

The Hornets’ DaShawn Freeman responded with two free throws to tie the score with 1:15 remaining. Sacramento State had a chance to take the lead, but Lange''s 3-point attempt fell short with 39 seconds remaining. MSU called a timeout with 11.6 seconds remaining to set up Miller''s game-winning shot.

Joining Lange in double figures for the Hornets were junior Jason Harris (13 points and six rebounds), senior Jameel Pugh (11 points and a game-high tying nine rebounds) and sophomore Alex Bausley (10 points, including a pair of three-pointers). Sacramento State, which entered halftime with a 39-34 lead, shot 38.6 percent (22-57) from the field and 40.0 percent (8-20) from the three-point line. The statistics for both teams were fairly even across the board, except Montana State converted two more field goals than the Hornets (24-of-54) and shot 44.4 percent for the game.

Miller finished with 13 points for Montana State, including three three-pointers. Marvin Moss and Al Beye each finished with nine rebounds to lead the Bobcats.

The Hornets’ Lange played 32 minutes after missing the first 16 games of the season while he was ineligible. The Albuquerque, N.M., native had never missed a game during the first two years of his career with Sacramento State entering the season.

Sacramento State returns to action this Saturday, Jan. 22, as the team travels to Missoula, Mont., to take on the Grizzlies of Montana. Since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97, the Hornets have never won in Missoula during the regular season (0-8). However, Sacramento State defeated the Grizzlies in Missoula during the quarterfinal round of the Big Sky Tournament in 2002-03.