WILLIAMS’ JUMPER WITH 4.6 SECONDS REMAINING GIVES MEN’S BASKETBALL A 78-77 VICTORY OVER MONTANA STATE

1/10/2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Senior Justin Williams knocked down a 16-foot baseline jumper with 4.6 seconds left to give Sacramento State a dramatic 78-77 victory over Montana State in a Big Sky Conference men’s basketball game Thursday evening at the Hornets Nest.

Montana State’s Phil Friesen had just converted a lay-up with 1:14 remaining to give the Bobcats their first lead (77-76) since the 13:40 mark of the second half. The Hornets could not convert on their next trip down the floor, but Friesen missed a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left to give Sacramento State an opportunity for the victory. Freshman point guard Vinnie McGhee, Jr., dribbled the clock down before penetrating just in front of the free throw line and dishing to Williams, who canned the jumper.

After a timeout, Montana State had to dribble the length of the floor in 4.6 seconds, and Casey Durham’s desperation three-pointer at the buzzer was well off the mark.  

With the victory, Sacramento State (3-11, 1-3) snapped a five-game losing streak and won its first conference game of the season. The Hornets, who improved to 37-20 at home since the beginning of the 2003-04 season, have now defeated Montana State eight times in the last nine meetings in Sacramento.

Montana State, which has victories this season over Boise State and Oregon State, had their four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 9-6 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Williams finished the game with 12 points (5-of-6 shooting), five rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. He scored 10 of his 12 in the second half, including each of the team’s last four points. McGhee finished with a season-best 23 points (9-of-17 shooting) to go along with five assists, four rebounds and a steal in 37 minutes. Junior Loren Leath rounded out the three Hornets with double figures in points as he finished with 19 points, three steals and a career-high tying seven rebounds.

Sacramento State, which had a game-high 10-point lead with 9:20 left in the contest, limited Montana State to 38.3 percent shooting (23-60) from the field. The Bobcats shot just 24.0 percent (6-25) from beyond the three-point arc, but three of those makes came from Carlos Taylor during the final 5:38 of the contest. Taylor scored a game-high 34 points (9-of-16 from the field, 5-of-9 three-pointers, 11-of-12 free throws), including 10 of Montana State’s final 15 points.

The Hornets shot 38.0 percent (27-71) from the field and outrebounded Montana State, 46-42. The Bobcats entered the game as the top rebounding team in the Big Sky, and the Hornets improved to 3-0 when outrebounding an opponent this season. Three Hornets had at least seven rebounds, comprised of sophomore Wandji Aboubakar (five points, eight rebounds and two blocks), senior Clark Woods (eight points, seven rebounds) and Leath.

Aboubakar’s points, rebounds and blocked shots were all season highs as the Cameroon native was playing in just his seventh game after returning from a knee injury. Freshman Darnell Ferguson added five rebounds and three blocked shots in 15 minutes.

Sacramento State knocked down 12-of-16 free throws in the second half, including eight of their last nine attempts of the game. The Hornets shot 69.2 percent (18-26) overall from the charity stripe.

Tonight’s game was the first of a season-best four game homestand, and the first in a stretch that will see the Hornets play seven of their next nine games inside the friendly confines. Entering tonight, the Hornets, who have played three nationally ranked teams this season, had the 14th toughest strength of schedule according to the Sagarin Ratings.

Sacramento State will play three more home games in the next nine days, including dates with Montana (Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7:05 p.m.), Cal State Bakersfield (Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 7:05 p.m.) and Northern Arizona (Saturday, Jan. 19 at 7:05 p.m.).