SACRAMENTO -- It was the tale of two halves as Sacramento State held a 37-27 halftime lead, only to see Northern Colorado outscore the Hornets, 43-28, in the second half as the Bears posted a 70-65 victory in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams on Saturday evening at the Nest.
Northern Colorado did its biggest damage late in the second half, as Sacramento State got a pair of Osi Nwachukwu free throws to take a 63-58 lead with 2:43 to play. However, the Bears would finish the game on a 12-2 run over the final 2:30. Scoring 11 of those points was preseason first team all-conference guard Jordan Davis. The nation's ninth leading scorer had 11 points during the game's final 2:30, scoring on five of Northern Colorado's final six possessions. In fact, the Bears scored on each of their last six possessions while the Hornets converted on just one of their final seven field goal attempts.
Davis' biggest shot was a well-contested 3-pointer from the wing that gave Northern Colorado a 66-65 lead with 46 seconds left. Just before that shot, a Marcus Graves jumper had given the Hornets a 65-63 advantage. Sacramento State, however, would not score again, as Northern Colorado tallied the game's final seven points (spanning 46 seconds), including four free throws from Davis to put the game away. Davis finished with 28 points, including 21 in the second half. He entered the game averaging 24.0 per contest.
Sacramento State did many things right in tonight's game, but not close things out. The Hornets had sizeable advantages in rebounding (39-27), points in the paint (44-28), second chance points (14-5) and fast break points (8-2). Sacramento State also converted on three more field goals than the Bears. Northern Colorado, however, buried 10 3-pointers while the Hornets were just 1-for-8 from distance.
With the loss, the Hornets dropped to 6-4 overall and 0-1 in the Big Sky. In the process, the team had its five-game home winning streak (dating back to last season). Had Sacramento State won this evening, the 7-3 record would have been the best 10-game start for the program during the team's Div. I era (1991-pres.).
Northern Colorado, selected third in both the Big Sky's preseason media and coaches polls, improved to 7-5 overall and 1-0 in league play. The Bears were playing their fifth game of a season-long six-game road trip.
Tonight was the first of 20 Big Sky contests the Hornets will play, including a trip to the Montana schools next week.
Sacramento State shot 45% (29-65) from the field, but just 35% in the second half. Northern Colorado finished the game shooting 50% from the floor (26-52) and 35% (10-29) from the 3-point line. That included a blistering 59% from the field in the second half.
Four Hornets scored in double figures, led by center Joshua Patton's 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots in a career-high 37 minutes. The junior was 7-for-14 from the field, and five of his nine rebounds came on the offensive glass. He has now scored in double figures in every game this season, and is averaging 14.4 points per contest.
Nwachukwu posted season highs in points (11) and rebounds (6) while also tacking on a pair of steals. Graves finished with 12 points, six assists and four steals, and is now just 27 points shy of becoming the 16th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. Bryce Fowler added 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and six rebounds.
Seven different Hornets scored in tonight's game, including Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa who had seven points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Ethan Esposito had six points in 11 minutes.
For Northern Colorado, Davis' 28 points came on 11-of-18 shooting with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and zero turnovers in 39 minutes. Bodie Hume had 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the 3-point line. It was Davis (21) and Hume (15) that combined for 36 of Northern Colorado's 43 points in the second half. Collectively, they had 46 of Northern Colorado's 70 points.
Sacramento State will play four of its next five games on the road. That includes a trip to the Montana schools next week, including Thursday at Montana at 6:05 p.m. PST, and Montana State on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. PST.





March 2, 2019
MEN’S BASKETBALL FALLS IN SHOOTOUT AT IDAHO, 94-90

February 23, 2019
MEN’S HOOPS SHOOTING GOES COLD IN 65-57 ROAD LOSS AT PORTLAND STATE


February 20, 2019
MEN'S HOOPS CONCLUDES HOMESTAND THURSDAY NIGHT VS. WEBER STATE

February 16, 2019
MEN’S HOOPS FALLS AT HOME TO NORTHERN ARIZONA

February 14, 2019
MEN'S HOOPS CONTINUES HOMESTAND THURSDAY NIGHT VS. SOUTHERN UTAH

February 11, 2019
MEN’S BASKETBALL NEVER TRAILS IN 78-67 HOME WIN OVER PORTLAND STATE

February 9, 2019
LATE SURGE DOOMS MEN’S HOOPS IN 65-59 ROAD LOSS AT NORTHERN COLORADO

February 1, 2019
MEN'S HOOPS CONTINUES ROAD TRIP SATURDAY NIGHT AT WEBER STATE

January 30, 2019
MEN'S HOOPS OPENS THREE-GAME ROAD TRIP ON THURSDAY AT IDAHO STATE


January 25, 2019
MEN'S HOOPS BACK AT HOME SATURDAY NIGHT VS. EASTERN WASHINGTON

January 24, 2019
MEN’S HOOPS CRUISES TO 69-48 HOME WIN OVER IDAHO

January 23, 2019
MEN'S HOOPS BACK AT HOME; HOST IDAHO ON THURSDAY NIGHT AT 7 PM

January 18, 2019
MEN'S HOOPS TO PLAY ROAD MATINEE ON SATURDAY AT SOUTHERN UTAH


January 15, 2019
MEN'S HOOPS BEGINS BRIEF ROAD TRIP THURSDAY AT NORTHERN ARIZONA

January 12, 2019
MEN’S HOOPS DROPS LAST SECOND HEART BREAKER TO IDAHO STATE, 72-70

January 10, 2019
MEN'S HOOPS HOSTS IDAHO STATE ON SATURDAY FOR KIDS NIGHT


January 4, 2019
MEN'S HOOPS GETS SET FOR SATURDAY MATINEE AT MONTANA STATE

December 27, 2018
MEN'S HOOPS OPENS BIG SKY PLAY ON SATURDAY AT HOME VS NORTHERN COLORADO

December 21, 2018
MEN’S BASKETBALL LEADS AT HALFTIME, BUT EVENTUALLY FALLS AT WASHINGTON

December 19, 2018
MEN'S BASKETBALL TRAVELS TO WASHINGTON FOR FRIDAY NIGHT GAME AT 6 PM

December 11, 2018
MEN’S BASKETBALL USES LATE 29-2 RUN TO BEAT HOLY NAMES, 81-56

December 10, 2018
MEN'S HOOPS BACK AT HOME TUESDAY NIGHT VS. HOLY NAMES AT 7 PM

December 8, 2018
MEN’S HOOPS DROPS TO 4-2 AFTER 76-67 LOSS AT PORTLAND

December 6, 2018
MEN'S BASKETBALL WRAPS UP ROAD TRIP ON SATURDAY AT PORTLAND

December 5, 2018
MEN’S BASKETBALL ADDS HOME GAME ON THURSDAY, DEC. 13



November 27, 2018
HUGE WEEK LANDS GRAVES BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

November 24, 2018
MEN’S HOOPS NOW 3-0 AFTER 87-82 OVERTIME WIN AGAINST CAL STATE FULLERTON



November 16, 2018
FRIDAY NIGHT’S MEN’S BASKETBALL HOME GAME AGAINST CAL POLY POSTPONED

November 14, 2018
SECOND GAME OF THE SEASON: MEN'S HOOPS HOSTS CAL POLY

September 26, 2018
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September 12, 2018
FORMER MEN’S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH DON NEWMAN PASSES AWAY

July 24, 2018
MEN’S BASKETBALL RELEASES THE 2018-19 SCHEDULE

July 19, 2018
THE NEST RECEIVES A BRAND NEW FLOOR DESIGN
