POCATELLO, Idaho — The Sacramento State defense shut out Idaho State in the second half, and the Hornets used three Kyle Sentkowski field goals to claim a 23-21 come-from-behind win on Saturday at Holt Arena.

"That was a gritty win and I'm proud of our guys," head coach Troy Taylor said. "I thought there were a couple of times where they could have given up in the game but they never did. They always believed and found a way to win."

The defense came up big during the final two quarters with a pair of interceptions. The first from Munchie Filer III in the third quarter and then from Marte Mapu who stepped in front of a Hunter Hays pass with just under two minutes remaining to seal the game.

"I remember (watching) one of their plays and was waiting on it the whole game," Mapu said. "I saw my opportunity and read the quarterback's eyes and that's when it happened. All credit goes to the defensive line who had pressure the entire game and allowed us to make that play."

After a slow start for both teams, the Hornets scored the game's first points on a 60-yard pass from Jake Dunniway to running back Marcus Fulcher. The sophomore broke down the right sideline on a wheel route and then dove for the pylon for his first score of the year and the longest offensive play for the team this season.

The lead, however, was short lived, as Benjamin Omayebu returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to tie the game, 7-7. Sacramento State moved back ahead early in the second quarter with its version of the Philly Special. BJ Perkinson took a toss from Asher O'Hara and then pitched to wide receiver Lucas Triplett who was coming from the left side of the field. Triplett then lobbed a ball to a wide open O'Hara for the touchdown. The drive was kept alive by an illegal formation call against Idaho State on 4th-and-3 which gave the Hornets a first down.

ISU knotted the game at 14-14 when Vander Waal hit Omayebu in the middle of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown. The Hornets went 3-and-out and used only 15 seconds on their next drive to give the ball back to ISU. After Vander Waal was knocked out of the game diving for a first down, freshman Hunter Hays gave Idaho State its first lead at 21-14 with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Conner with 2:56 left in the half.

The only points in the second half for either team came from the leg of Sentkowski who connected on kicks of 49, 27 and 40 yards. His final kick gave the team the lead with 13:27 remaining in the fourth quarter. Sentkowski is now 8-for-11 this season and his 49-yarder is tied for the ninth longest in program history.

"I was just trying to hit the ball and stay on my line," Sentkowski. "I had the mindset that I was going to make every kick. I have all the confidence in (long snapper Dustin Cognetti and holder Sam Clark). We have great chemistry."

Sacramento State dominated the final statistics, outgaining ISU, 442-281. Jake Dunniway threw for over 300 yards for the second straight game. Dunniway was 18-of-30 for 302 yards with a touchdown. Asher O'Hara added 34 yards of passing and also rushed for 47.

Pierre Williams had another big game with six receptions for 130 yards. Freshman Chris Miller added four grabs for 51 yards. Fulcher led the team with 49 rushing yards and finished with 151 yards of all-purpose yards.

Defensively, Tyler Hardeman had a career high nine tackles while linebacker Marcus Hawkins had eight. Josiah Erickson had the team's lone sack.

NOTES

• Pierre Williams became the first Hornet to have 100 receiving yards in three consecutive games since Shane Harrison did it against Idaho State (159), Cal Poly (128) and Northern Arizona (152) in 2015.
• Sentkowki made three field goals in a half for the second time this season.
• The Hornets shut out an opponent in the second half for the second time in four games.
• The victory snapped a streak of four games where the home team won in the series.