Laie, OAHU -- Sacramento State battled for 50 minutes, and eventually lost to Southern Utah, 91-87, in double overtime in the second and final round of the North Shore Classic at Cannon Activities Center.
Sacramento State led for over 29 minutes of game clock, and held a seven-point lead (61-54) with under three minutes to play in regulation. Southern Utah, however, kept chipping away and eventually tied things at 64-64 with four seconds to play. A Hornet 3-ball was off the mark as the regulation horn sounded.
Neither team led by more than four points in the first overtime. With the score tied, the Hornet defense forced a miss at the buzzer, and the teams went to a second overtime. The Thunderbirds used a 6-0 run in the second session to break a tie, and take an 88-82 lead with under a minute to play. The Hornets sliced the deficit to three points on an
Austin Patterson 3-ball with 10 seconds left, but would get no closer.
Sacramento State, which was playing its third game in five days, dropped to 3-4 on the young season. The Hornets opened the two-day Oahu tournament with a loss to Hawai'i yesterday. Sacramento State will get some badly needed rest before playing again next Saturday at Santa Clara.
Southern Utah, which made the move from the Big Sky Conference to the Western Athletic Conference this season, improved to 4-3. The Thunderbirds went 23-12, and 14-6 in the Big Sky a year ago. The Hornets lost to the T-Birds twice last season by 13+ points on both occasions.
Sacramento State finished the game 45% (29-64) from the field, 44% (10-23) from the 3-point line, and 73% (19-26) from the free throw line. Southern Utah shot 49% (32-66), and 4-of-15 from distance. The T-Birds had big advantages in points in the paint (56-34) and fast break points (22-10). The Hornets, who trailed by five points at halftime, had 15 assists on their 29 made buckets. Five different Sacramento State players had multiple assists.
Five Hornets also scored in double figures, led by
Zach Chappell's season-high 23 points on 7-for-13 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. The senior had nine points in the second half, and seven more in the overtime sessions. Forward
Akol Mawein also had a season high in points (17) to go with four rebounds. A third Hornet posted his season high in scoring in
Hunter Marks (11) who was 4-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from distance.
Austin Patterson had 16 points (3-for-7 from distance), six rebounds and a pair of steals, and center
Callum McRae had 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. McRae has now posted double figures in points or rebounds in all but one game this season. Point guard
Gianni Hunt had eight points, four rebounds and three steals, and
Cameron Wilbon two points and five boards. For Wilbon, it was his season low in points as the junior sixth man entered the game averaging a team-high 11.5 points per contest.
Southern Utah was led by Tevian Jones' 24 points. Jones was an all-Big Sky Conference selection a year ago.
The Hornets' game at Fresno State on Saturday (Dec. 17) will begin at 2 p.m.
