With the victory, Sacramento State (10-5, 1-0) won its Big Sky opener for the first time since the 1999-00 season and the team has won nine of its last 12 games. The Hornets’ 10-5 record is the team’s best mark after 15 games in the Div. I era (1991-pres.) and the best since the 1988-89 season. In addition, the team remained undefeated at home (6-0) and improved to 26-8 at the Hornets Nest dating back to the 2003-04 season. Sacramento State has also won 19 games in a row (dating back to 2003-04) when scoring at least 75 points.

Sacramento State snapped Portland State’s five-game winning streak as the Vikings dropped to 7-7 and 0-1 in the conference. Portland State is the defending Big Sky regular-season champions and were the only team to sweep the Hornets in two games last season. Sacramento State is in the middle of a season-long three-game homestand and will host Eastern Washington on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 7:05 p.m.

Bausley’s 21 points (8-of-16 shooting, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc) accompanied a game-high tying seven rebounds. He also tallied five assists and two steals and upped his scoring average to 12.7 points per game. After combining to score just 33 points over his last six games, Hargrave broke out with 15 points, including a season-high tying four three-pointers. The junior from Queens, N.Y., keyed a 10-3 Hornet run to close the first half with two three-pointers, all during the final 1:09 of the half.

Leath scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half, and finished the game 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from the beyond the arc. In fact, Leath and Hargrave combined for 23 of the Hornets’ 28 first-half points.

Both teams began the game sluggishly, combining for just 10 points during the first nine minutes of the contest. Portland State took its largest lead of the game at 8-4 with 11:33 to play, but a three-pointer from Leath quickly sliced the lead to one point (11:14). The teams exchanged baskets for the next five minutes as a Juma Kamara three-pointer tied things at 18-18 with 6:16 to play. In the middle of that stretch, the Vikings lost their starting point guard Ryan Sommer to a hamstring injury (at the 9:11 mark of the first half) and the sophomore did not return the rest of the way.

Sacramento State used a 17-3 run that spanned exactly eight minutes of both the first and second halves to take a commanding 35-21 lead with 18:14 to play in the game. The Vikings would get no closer than nine points of the Hornets’ lead the rest of the way as Sacramento State opened up a lead as large as 23 points (76-53) with 50 seconds remaining.

Despite missing 10 of their first 11 shots of the game, the Hornets still finished the contest shooting 43.8 percent (28-64) from the field, 39.3 percent (11-28) from the three-point line and 75.0 percent (9-12) from the charity stripe. The 11 three-pointers were one shy of the team’s season high as Bausley, Leath and Hargrave each knocked down at least three treys. In eight active minutes, sophomore Davon Roberts tallied a career-high nine points (4-of-4 shooting) to go along with three rebounds and a steal. The forward’s previous career high was seven points and his previous season high was six. Hornet senior point guard DaShawn Freeman finished with eight points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Portland State received a team-high 17 points from Kamara (7-of-11 from the field), 10 points from Josh Neeley, and eight points, seven rebounds and two steals from Jake Schroeder. The Vikings shot the ball well (44.4 percent, 22-of-50), but committed 24 turnovers. Sacramento State, which leads the Big Sky in steals, tallied 12 tonight and is now averaging 9.8 per game this season. The Vikings were outscored, 28-21, in the first half and 48-39 in the second half.

The Hornets were playing without senior swingman Jason Harris who was declared academically ineligible prior to the game. Harris will attend winter session at Sacramento State and could regain eligibility at the conclusion of the term.

Should Sacramento State knock off Eastern Washington on Saturday, the Hornets would begin the Big Sky season 2-0 for the first time since joining the league in 1996-97. The Eagles lost at Northern Arizona tonight (105-95) despite freshman Rodney Stuckey’s 45 points (15-of-21 shooting) and five steals.