POCATELLO, Idaho -- A wild finish saw Sacramento State score five points during an eight-second span late in overtime to take a brief one point lead, but a pair of free throws with five seconds left gave Idaho State a 57-56 win on Sunday afternoon at Reed Gym.

With the Hornets trailing, 55-51, and just 18 second left in the extra session, Bryce Fowler knocked down a jumper to cut the deficit to 55-53. After some pressure in the back court, Ethan Esposito got a steal and drove hard to the bucket where he was fouled and converted a 3-point play to give the Hornets a 56-55 lead with nine seconds left. However, Robert Ford III took the inbounds and drove the length of the floor before he was fouled while attempting a contested layup at the five-second mark. Ford made both free throws, and a Fowler desperation heave from just beyond the 3-point line fell short at the buzzer.

In reality, the game should have never reached overtime. Sacramento State went just 7-for-15 from the free throw line, including 2-of-8 in the second half. Complicating matters was the Hornets scoring just one point during the final 4:45 of regulation. After an Esposito layup with 4:46 left gave Sacramento State a 48-44 lead, the Hornets would only get a free throw from Esposito at the 2:52 mark the remainder of regulation. The Hornets had the last look of regulation, but a contested Davis layup was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.

The loss dropped Sacramento State to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Sky Conference. Idaho State won its fourth straight, and seventh in the last eight games while improving to 7-5 overall, 4-1 in the Big Sky, and 4-0 at home. These same two teams will wrap up their two-game series tomorrow at noon PST at Reed Gym.

Sacramento State had gone 13 straight days without a game until today, and the rust showed. The Hornets entered the game averaging 76.2 points on 49% shooting from the field. However, in today's game, the team shot just 37% (21-57) from the field and 47% (7-15) from the free throw line. The Hornets trailed, 30-23, at halftime, but scored the first eight points of the second half and neither team led by more than six points the rest of the way. Sacramento State's largest lead was 44-38 with 9:46 remaining while ISU had a game-high 10-point lead late in the first half.

The Bengals shot 42% from the field and 79% (11-14) from the free throw line, but were limited to 4-of-22 from distance. There were nine lead changes in the game and five ties for a pair of teams that always seem to play close games against one another.

Fowler finished with a game-high and career-high tying 19 points in 39 minutes of play. That included 10 points in the second half, and four more in overtime. Joining him in double figures was Esposito who finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals. Today marked just the second time all season the Hornets did not have at least four players score in double figures.

After missing the last two games, William FitzPatrick scored nine points on 3-of-7 from beyond the 3-point line. He also added four rebounds and two assists. Forward Samaad Hector had another impressive game, finishing with seven points and eight rebounds in just 14 minutes. Hector is now averaging one rebound every 2.2 minutes of action. Hector and FitzPatrick combined for 16 of the Hornets' 19 points off the bench.

For Idaho State, Brayden Parker (18) and Tarik Cool (18) combined for 36 of the Bengals' 57 points. Ford had eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

After tomorrow's game at Idaho State, the Hornets will host Montana for two games on Thursday at 5 p.m., and Saturday at 11 a.m. The two-game set will mark the Hornets' first home games since an 85-54 victory over Fresno Pacific on Jan. 3.