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BOZEMAN, Mont. — Senior Ethan Esposito had a career night (32 points), and junior Zach Chappell's free throws with 1.7 seconds left were the difference as Sacramento State defeated Montana State, 74-73, on Saturday morning at Worthington Arena. The game marked the regular season finale for both teams.

Sacramento State will now set its sights on next week's Big Sky Tournament in Boise where the Hornets will be the No. 9 seed and play No. 8 Northern Colorado (10-10, 6-8) at 8 a.m. PST on Wednesday. The winner of that game will play on Thursday against No. 1 seed Southern Utah at 10 a.m. PST. The Hornets have won their Big Sky Tournament first round game in two straight, and five of the last six years. The tournament is a single elimination postseason event.
 
Sacramento State will enter the tournament on a high note after the Hornets squeaked by Montana State today. The win snapped a five-game losing streak, and the Hornets have now played three straight games decided by two points or less. That included a 72-70 loss to Weber State at home last weekend, and yesterday's 77-75 loss at Montana State.

The Bobcats, who will be the No. 5 seed at the tournament, fell to 11-9 overall and 8-6 in the Big Sky. Montana State had won two straight prior to today's loss.

Today's game saw 14 lead changes, nine ties, and neither team led by more than seven points the entire way. In a game that was very similar to yesterday's 77-75 MSU victory, Sacramento State made the big shots late. None bigger than four free throws from Chappell in the final 1:09. The first set of free throws cut the Montana State lead to one (72-73), and the second set came with 1.7 seconds left to give the Hornets the 74-73 lead and eventual win. Sacramento State held the Bobcats scoreless the final 90 seconds. That included a desperation halfcourt heave at the buzzer by Nick Gazelas that missed.

The Hornets' final possession saw Bryce Fowler grab a rebound on a Montana State miss with 10 seconds to play. Fowler raced up the floor and had a decent look at a layup from the right side of the rim that just missed the mark. Chappell leaped high for the rebound and was fouled on the putback before sinking the clutch free throws. Amazingly, no team led by more than four points the final 13 minutes of clock.

The Chappell free throws were big, but Esposito stole the show with a career-high 32 points on an incredible line of 9-for-10 from the field, 2-of-2 from the 3-point line and 12-for-14 from the free throw line. He also added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, drew nine fouls and was a game-high +7 in plus/minus. The 32 points eclipsed his previous career high by six points, and tied for the ninth most by a Hornet in a single game during the program's Div. I era (1991-pres.). Incredibly, Esposito scored 27 of the Hornets' 44 points in the second half where he was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and buried both his 3-point looks.

Sacramento State shot 46% from the field, and just 6-of-18 from the 3-point line, but the Hornets were proficient from the free throw line, burying 83% (20-24) of its attempts. The Hornets held a 32-28 edge in the rebounding department and had a 12-6 advantage in second chance points. The Bobcats shot 53% from the field and hit five 3-pointers, but converted on eight less free throws than the Hornets. Sacramento State held a 30-29 lead at the half.

Joining Esposito in double figures were Chappell (11 points, four rebounds, two assists) and Bryce Fowler (15 points, five rebounds, three assists). Fowler now has 980 career points, and is just 20 shy of reaching the 1,000 point milestone. Christian Terrell had seven points, William FitzPatrick five points and five rebounds, and freshman David Jones had three rebounds, two steals and four blocked shots in 24 minutes. Elijah McCullough added three points and Brandon Davis had two rebounds and a pair of assists.

For Montana State, Jubrile Belo matched Esposito with 32 points. Belo was a ridiculous 13-for-13 from the field, but went just 6-for-10 from the free throw line. All 10 of those free throw attempts came in the first half. The Bobcats lost despite shooting 61% (19-31) from the field in the second half.

Today's game can be seen in its entirety tonight on CW31 in the Sacramento area at 6 p.m.