SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Northern Arizona had a big edge in the rebounding department (38-27) and outscored Sacramento State in the second half, 43-33, on the way to a 73-69 victory over the Hornets on Thursday evening at the Nest.

Of the Lumberjacks' 38 rebounds, a whopping 17 came on the offensive glass. That included 11 offensive boards in the second half which resulted in 10 second-chance points after halftime.

After Sacramento State had taken a 36-30 lead into halftime, the Lumberjacks opened the first 4:36 of the second half on a 13-7 run to tie the score at 43-43. Both teams would trade baskets over the next seven and a half minutes as the game was tied on six occasions during that span. However, with the score tied at 56-56 and 7:40 remaining, Northern Arizona would score on six of its next seven possessions to take a 64-58 lead with 5:37 left. During that spurt, NAU kept possessions alive with three offensive rebounds.

Sacramento State would trim the lead to a one possession game at 66-63 with 4:19 remaining, 68-66 with 2:21 left and 71-69 with seven seconds remaining, but would get no closer. Perhaps the biggest moment of the game came with under a minute to play. With NAU leading, 68-66, and in possession of the ball, the Hornets deflected a pass and looked like they would have a steal. However, after the ball glanced off three or four bodies in a mad scrum, the fortunate bounce went right to JoJo Anderson who threw down low to Ako Kaluna for a layup and a 70-66 lead with 34 seconds left.

After an NAU free throw gave the Lumberjacks a five-point lead, the Hornets' Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa drained a 25-foot 3-pointer with a hand in his face to cut the deficit to 71-69 with seven seconds left. However, Anderson put the game away with a pair of free throws and provide the final score of 73-69.

The loss snapped the Hornets' four-game home winning streak and dropped the team to 10-16 overall and 7-8 in the Big Sky. Sacramento State, which had defeated Northern Arizona earlier this season in Flagstaff by a 74-62 score, dropped to 7-4 at home this season, including 4-4 against league foes. Sacramento State lost its first three Big Sky home games and then ran off four straight home victories prior to tonight.

The Hornets are now 51-18 at the Nest dating back to the 2012-13 season, including a 33-13 mark against Big Sky competition. Tonight's loss came against a Northern Arizona squad that had been 0-7 on the road against Big Sky teams, and 1-11 overall on the road. The Lumberjacks improved to 8-20 overall and 4-10 in the league.

Despite the loss, the Hornets remain in seventh place in the Big Sky standings, one game ahead of eighth-place Portland State (6-9). Montana, Montana State and Idaho are locked in a three-way tie for fourth place with 9-6 records. Each team in the Big Sky has just three remaining regular season games until the Big Sky Tournament begins on March 7 in Reno. The top five teams at the end of the regular season will receive a first round bye.

Sacramento State did force NAU into 14 miscues and had a massive 23-2 edge in points off turnovers, but it was not enough. The Hornets shot .455 (25-55) from the field, .350 (7-20) from the 3-point line and just .632 (12-19) from the free throw line. NAU finished the game shooting .462 (24-52) from the field, .400 (8-20) from the 3-point line and .739 (17-23) from the free throw line. Northern Arizona also outscored Sacramento State in bench points, 25-7.

Four Hornets scored in double figures, led by Marcus Graves' 22 points and six assists. The junior guard connected on 10-of-16 shots from the field and committed just two turnovers in a game-high 38 minutes, but was limited to just two points during the game's final 10 minutes. The 22 points were just two shy of his career high of 24, set at Seattle last season.

Eric Stuteville had 14 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes, Nick Hornsby added 12 points, nine rebounds and three steals, and Justin Strings had 11 points in 34 minutes. Strings, who is the team's leading scorer at 15.9 points per game, was held to just 3-for-16 shooting from the field. Mauriohooho-Le'afa had three points, three assists and two steals, and Chibueze Jacobs had three points and three rebounds.

For NAU, Kaluna had 17 points and 11 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass. Jordyn Martin had 14 points and eight rebounds (five offensive), and Anderson added 10 points and five assists. NAU had 17 assists on 24 made buckets. The combination of Kaluna and Martin combined for 12 of the Lumberjacks' 17 offensive rebounds.

Sacramento State will play its final home game on Saturday against Southern Utah at 7:05 p.m. Prior to the game, fourth-year seniors and team tri-captains Trevis Jackson, Stuteville and Hornsby will be honored for their contributions to the program.

NOTES -- Stuteville played in his 120th career game tonight, setting the new program record (1948-pres.) for most games played in a Sacramento State uniform, surpassing Dylan Garrity's 119 games played…Hornsby isn't far behind at 118 games played…with one block tonight, Stuteville is now nine blocks shy of tying the program's all-time record for career blocked shots of 152, set by Cassius Kelleybrew during the late 1980s.