CEDAR CITY, Utah — Sacramento State scored a season-high tying 88 points, and Nick Hornsby led the way with a career-best 28 points to go along with 14 rebounds, as the Hornets beat Southern Utah, 88-83, on Thursday evening at Centrum Arena.

Not only did the Hornets (4-11, 1-3) pick up their first conference win of the season, but they also snapped an 11-game road losing streak which dated back to last year. The Hornets also snapped a six-game road losing streak against Big Sky competition. In addition, Sacramento State won for just the third time ever against the Thunderbirds in Cedar City (3-11).

Despite the record, the Hornets have continued to show improvement as evidence by the two games prior to this evening - an overtime home loss to North Dakota and an 83-76 loss at Portland State in which they trailed by one point with two minutes to play. Tonight, Sacramento State was able to get over the hump with good shooting and some timely free throws. The Hornets finished the game shooting .560 (28-50) from the field and .545 (6-11) from the 3-point line while converting on their last nine free throw attempts spanning the final 1:34.

In addition, the Hornets' free throws made (26) and attempted (42) were season highs while the field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage were the second best marks of the season. Sacramento State's 88 points tied for a season high, matching the team's output from the double overtime win against Abilene Christian (88-86).

With the loss, Southern Utah dropped to 4-13 overall and 2-2 in the Big Sky. The Thunderbirds were playing their first home conference game of the season after defeating both Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado on the road. Sacramento State is now 11-16 all-time against Southern Utah.

In a game the Hornets led by as many as 16 points, Sacramento State never trailed the final 33:34 of the contest. In fact, after Southern Utah raced out to a 9-3 lead in the opening minutes of the game, the Hornets responded with a 22-3 run over the next eight minutes to take control.

Southern Utah would eventually cut the deficit to three points at the 6:45 and 0:51 marks of the second half but could not pull any closer. Each time the Thunderbirds got close during the final 1:34, the Hornets answered by making free throws. That included a pair of free throws by Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa to make the score 82-76 with 1:09 to play, two free throws on back-to-back possessions from Hornsby (0:34 and 0:30) and two from Trevis Jackson (88-82, 0:17) to put the game away. In fact, 10 of the Hornets' final 13 points came from the free throw line, sandwiched around a huge 3-ball from Mauriohooho-Le'afa with 2:24 remaining.

Sacramento State got some big stops late with the help of redshirt freshman Joshua Patton blocking a pair of shots during the final 1:09. The biggest came with 31 seconds remaining and the Hornets nursing a five-point lead. Southern Utah's Decardo Day swooped in for what looked like a sure layup before Patton came from the weak side and swatted the ball off a Thunderbird, giving possession back to the Hornets. Patton finished with five points, five rebounds and three blocked shots in a season-high tying 19 minutes.

Hornsby was magnificent all evening, scoring 17 points in the first half and dropping 11 more points in the second half. His 28 points eclipsed his previous career high of 20, set on two occasions. In addition, his 14 rebounds were just one shy of a career best. He finished the game shooting 7-for-14 from the field, 1-of-2 from the 3-point line and 13-for-19 from the free throw line. He converted on each of his final five free throws of the game. The 19 free throw attempts are tied for the most by any Hornet during the Div. I era (1991-pres.) while the 13 makes tie for the fifth best mark.

Joining Hornsby in double figures for the Hornets were Mauriohooho-Le'afa (16 points, 5-of-7 FG, 4-of-6 3FG), Marcus Graves (16 points, 7-of-9 shooting, 14 points in the 2nd half) and Justin Strings (11 points, four rebounds). Mauriohooho-Le'afa continues to improve as he has now scored in double figures in three of the last four games and is averaging 11.0 points per game over that span. Graves scored 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the second half before fouling out with 3:49 remaining. Strings has scored in double figures in all but two games this year.

Sacramento State was able to win despite being whistled for a season-high 28 fouls. Four different Hornets were battling foul trouble throughout the second half, and the team saw two of its starters foul out including center Eric Stuteville who was lost with 7:21 remaining. That's two starters, Graves and Stuteville, both fouling out with plenty of time remaining, and Sacramento State still pulled out the road win. Both Strings and Jackson finished with four fouls.

The Hornets were also able to win despite being outrebounded, 46-36, and being outscored in second chance points by a wide margin (24-4). Sacramento State did a hold a decided edge in points in the paint (34-18). The Thunderbirds finished the game shooting just .368 (25-68) from the field, but converted on 9-of-18 from the 3-point line and 24-for-35 (.686) from the free throw line.

For Southern Utah, Randy Onwuasor, who entered the game averaging 23.4 ppg, finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. James McGee added 21 points, including 5-of-8 from the 3-point line and John Marshall had 17 points, including 3-for-4 from long range. Those three players combined to score 65 of the Thunderbirds' 83 points.

Sacramento State wraps up its three-game Big Sky road trip on Saturday afternoon when the Hornets play at Northern Arizona. Tip-off is set for 11:35 p.m. PST. Like every game the rest of the season, a free video stream will be available via www.WatchBigSky.com.