Big Sky Conference standings

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State scored a season-low tying 53 points and finished with its second lowest field goal percentage (.324) of the year on the way to a 69-53 loss to Northern Colorado on Thursday evening at the Nest.

The game marked the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams. Tonight was the first of 18 conference games for the Hornets spanning the next 10 weeks leading into the conference tournament in Reno on March 7-11.

The Hornets lost for the first time this season at home (3-1), had their six-game home winning streak snapped and dropped to 47-15 inside the Nest dating back to the beginning of the 2012-13 season. In the process, Sacramento State, which nearly beat Washington State a week ago, dropped to 3-9 overall and 0-1 in the Big Sky. The Hornets' record is their worst after 12 games since the 2010-11 squad had the same mark.

Northern Colorado, which led the game from start to finish, improved to 5-7 overall and 1-0 in the Big Sky. In addition, the Bears picked up their first road win of the season, and have now won two straight which includes a 16-point home win over UC Riverside on Dec. 20. Northern Colorado is also 14-6 all-time against Sacramento State and snapped a three-game losing streak to the Hornets inside the Nest.

Little went right for the Hornets tonight as the team was held below 30 points in both the first and second halves. Sacramento State finished the game shooting just .324 (22-68) from the field, .167 (4-24) from the 3-point line and .625 (5-8) from the free throw line. The free throws made tied a season low as Sacramento State had just one attempt from the charity stripe in the first half. Northern Colorado double teamed Hornet center Eric Stuteville all evening, resulting in a season-low 20 points in the paint for Sacramento State.

Northern Colorado also held a massive edge in the rebounding department (53-35) while outscoring the Hornets in points in the paint (36-20), points off turnovers (17-11) and fast break points (10-4). The Bears jumped out to a 19-7 lead during the game's first seven and a half minutes, and led by double figures the final 30:14 of the contest. Northern Colorado opened up a lead as large as 26 points before settling for the 16-point victory.

The Bears made just three more field goals than the Hornets (.417, 25-for-60) and one more 3-pointer (.250, 5-for-20), but converted on nine more free throws (.667, 14-for-21). Sacramento State was in the free throw bonus for just 2:34 of game clock.

The Bears used just eight players in the game (compared to Sacramento State's 13 players) and six of those players scored tallied at least seven points. That included Jordan Davis who finished with a game-high 21 points to go along with four rebounds, five assists and three steals. The conference's fourth leading scorer at 20.0 points per game, Davis finished 8-for-17 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. DJ Miles added 11 points, Ibrahim Sylla eight points and nine rebounds, Jon'te Dotson nine points and a pair of steals, and Chaz Glotta had seven points and nine rebounds.

Sacramento State was led by junior forward Justin Strings' 13 points and six rebounds while true freshman Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa had a season-best 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go with two assists and two steals. Grant Dressler had nine points in 10 second-half minutes, Nick Hornsby grabbed 10 rebounds, and Marcus Graves finished with six points and eight assists. Graves had scored 21 points in back-to-back games prior to this evening. Hornsby is now the Big Sky's leading rebounder at 8.2 boards per game.

Stuteville finished with four points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. The fourth-year senior is now second in the Big Sky in blocked shots at 1.6 per game. Stuteville was limited to just three field goal attempts as he was double teamed nearly every time he touched the ball on offense. Sacramento State received 18 points off its bench, including four points from redshirt freshman Joshua Patton and three from sophomore Jeff Wu.

Sacramento State will play the second of its two-game homestand to open Big Sky play on Saturday for a New Year's Eve matinee against North Dakota. The game will tip at 12:05 p.m., and fans can buy one ticket to the game and get a second ticket for free.

NOTES -- The Hornets were playing for the first time in eight days as the team's last game was a 74-66 loss at Washington State on Dec. 21…since joining the Big Sky in 1996-97, Sacramento State has opened league play at home 10 times and is 5-5 in those decisions…after Saturday's game vs. North Dakota, the Hornets will play three straight conference games on the road, and do not return home until Jan. 19 vs. Montana State.