SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State shot well (.542, 32-of-59), rebounded well (41-26 advantage) and withstood a late Weber State rally on the way to a 77-74 victory over the conference-leading Wildcats on Thursday evening inside a raucous Nest.

The Hornets led for nearly 30 minutes (29:02) of game clock, and had what appeared to be a comfortable 64-53 advantage with 5:16 remaining. However, Weber State, which is the nation's best 3-point shooting team, would bury 3-pointers on four of its next seven possessions to trim the deficit all the way to one point (70-69) with 2:09 remaining.

Sacramento State, however, would get a jumper from Nick Hornsby (1:37), and, after a Jeremy Senglin miss, Trevis Jackson buried perhaps the biggest shot of the game, a 3-ball form the corner to put the Hornets on top, 75-69, with 59 seconds left. Weber State again answered with a 3-pointer from Dusty Baker, but Hornsby grabbed an offensive rebound on the Hornets' next possession and converted a layup to give the team a 77-72 lead with 18 seconds left.

Weber State trimmed the lead to three points with a pair of Jerrick Harding free throws at the nine-second mark, and Hornsby was immediately fouled on the inbounds with eight seconds remaining. Hornsby missed the front end of the 1-and-1 free throw situation, and the Wildcats grabbed the rebound. That set up a tense final eight seconds as Senglin grabbed the rebound and quickly dribbled up the floor. However, the Hornets, who played good defense on the nation's best 3-point shooter all evening, forced Senglin into an off-balance 26-footer that barely drew iron and Hornsby grabbed the rebound to secure the victory.

Senglin entered the game as the nation's leader in 3-pointers made per game (4.4), but he was limited to just 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field and 1-for-8 from the 3-point line. In fact, Senglin had seven of the Wildcats' eight misses from beyond the arc as WSU shot an impressive .556 (10-of-18) from distance. That included 7-of-12 from beyond the arc in the second half. Weber State entered the game leading the nation in 3-point accuracy at .431.

With the victory, Sacramento State secures its biggest win of the season and has now knocked off Big Sky powers Weber State and Montana this year. The Hornets (8-14, 5-6) have also won three straight home games and improved to 50-17 inside the Nest dating back to the 2012-13 season. In addition, the Hornets secured just their seventh win all-time against Weber State (7-38).

Sacramento State was helped by a loud and energetic near-sellout crowd that featured numerous fraternities and sororities, the band and many fans who stood a good portion of the second half. The Hornets remain in a tie for seventh place in the Big Sky standings, but sit just one and a half games back of fifth place. That fifth place spot looms large as the top five teams at the end of the regular season receive a bye in the first round of the Big Sky Tournament in Reno on March 7-11.

Weber State, which remains in first place in the league standings a half game ahead of North Dakota, dropped to 14-8 overall and 9-2 in the conference. The Wildcats had their five-game winning streak snapped and their two conference losses have come to North Dakota and the Hornets. Weber State is the defending Big Sky regular season and tournament champions.

Sacramento State never trailed by more than three points all evening, and finished the game shooting .542 (32-59) from the field while hitting just two 3-pointers and converting 11-of-17 free throws. The Hornets held a massive edge in the rebounding department (41-26), and second chance points (17-6). Seven of those second chance points came in the second half, including the huge putback from Hornsby with 18 seconds remaining. Weber State shot .482 (27-56) from the filed, .556 (10-18) from the 3-point line and .588 (10-17) from the free throw line.

"You have to play Weber State with high energy and focus, because whatever errors you make, they will punish you," Sacramento State head men's basketball coach Brian Katz said. "Weber State is the gold standard of the Big Sky, and I'm proud of our guys for their effort tonight. The atmosphere was unbelievable - the fraternities, sororities, the band and seemingly everyone that came out. I'm not sure we'd win tonight's game without their energy and passion."

Senior center Eric Stuteville posted his fourth double-double and fourth 20-point game of the season after finishing with a game-high 22 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots in 29 minutes. Despite picking up his fourth foul with 16:15 left in the second half, Stuteville still managed to have a big impact, shooting 9-of-13 from the field and 4-for-6 from the free throw line.

Forward Justin Strings notched his seventh 20-point game of the year, finishing with 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Guard Marcus Graves had 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a game-high 36 minutes. He scored 14 of those points in the second half and helped the Hornets to a 43-39 advantage after halftime. Hornsby had seven points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Joshua Patton added four points and two rebounds.

Jackson had three points, three rebounds, two assists and no turnovers in 27 minutes while also connecting on the huge 3-pointer with 59 seconds left. True freshman Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa had three points, four rebounds and three steals, and fellow true freshman Chibueze Jacobs had two points, three rebounds and a block in 10 minutes.

Four Weber State players finished in double figures including Ryan Richardson who had 16 points on 4-of-5 from distance. It was Richardson that connected on three 3-pointers during the final 5:16 to get the Wildcats back in the game. Baker added 15 points, and Zach Braxton had 11 points and five rebounds.

The Hornets return to action on Saturday night when they host Idaho State inside the Nest at 7 p.m. Saturday is also Think Pink night for breast cancer awareness, and fans are encouraged to wear pink.