CHENEY, Wash. -- Sacramento State closed the final 13 minutes on a 38-15 run, but the comeback bid fell just short in a 78-75 road loss at Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon at Reese Court.
After Eastern Washington entered halftime with a seemingly comfortable 49-28 lead, the Hornets reversed the trend with a monster second half. In fact, after the Eagles took a game-high 26 point lead (63-37) with 13:25 to play, Sacramento State responded with a 38-12 run to tie the score (75-75) on a
Zach Chappell 3-pointer with 15 seconds left.
However, the Eagles' Steele Venters hit an off-balance 3-pointer with two seconds left to give Eastern Washington a 78-75 lead and the eventual win. Sacramento State inbounded the ball, and
Zach Chappell's desperation 28-footer drew iron, but missed as the buzzer sounded.
Second half Sacramento State numbers....
• Outscored the Eagles, 47-29
• Shot 53% (17-32) from the field, and 55% (11-20) from the 3-point line
• Scored 16 points off 12 EWU turnovers
• Buried 11 3-pointers after going 3-for-13 from distance in the first half
• Chappell scored 19 points (7-13, 5-9 3FG)
Despite the second half theatrics, it was not quite enough in a battle between two unbeaten teams in Big Sky Conference play. The Eagles won their sixth straight while improving to 10-7 overall and 4-0 in league. The Eagles opened conference play last week with impressive road wins at the Montana schools, followed by a 12-point home victory over Portland State on Thursday.
Sacramento State, which had won six of seven, saw its three-game winning streak come to an end while falling to 9-7 and 2-1 in the Big Sky. The Hornets continue to put forth huge second halves. In the last four games, the Hornets have outscored the opposition by a whopping average of 16.0 points in the second half.
The Hornets finished the game shooting 43% (26-61) from the field, and 42% (14-33) from the 3-point line, but just 9-for-16 (56%) from the free throw line. Sacramento State had 17 assists on 26 made buckets, and forced the Eagles into 17 turnovers. Eastern Washington, one of the Big Sky's best 3-point shooting teams, shot 55% (30-55) from the floor, 42% (13-31) from distance, and 5-for-6 from charity.
The Hornets never had a lead in today's contest, as the Eagles jumped out to an early 14-2 lead.
Chappell had another big game with 23 points (19 in the second half) on 9-for-16 from the field and 5-of-9 from the 3-point line to go along with four assists and two steals. For Chappell, he has now scored better than 20 points in five of the last 10 games. During the last four games, he has scored a combined 63 points in the second half (15.8 points per half).
Austin Patterson had 13 points and a career-high four steals, and
Hunter Marks posted 10 points (2-4 3FG, 4-4 FT) to round out the three Hornets in double figures.
Akol Mawein narrowly missed a double-double with seven points and 10 rebounds, including six boards on the offensive glass. It was his third game of the season with double figures in rebounds.
Quadry Adams had a season-high seven points, two assists, and was a team-best +7 in plus/minus. Point guard
Gianni Hunt led all players with 34 minutes, and posted six points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Callum McRae had five points and four rebounds, and
Cameron Wilbon four points and four assists. Sacramento State used eight players in today's game.
Venters, a second team all-Big Sky selection for Eastern Washington a year ago, was nearly unstoppable tonight. Besides the game winner, he finished with a game-high 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field, 5-of-7 from distance, and hit both his free throws.
After playing 11 of its first 16 games away from the Nest, Sacramento State will finally see some home cooking over the next month. The Hornets will play six of their next eight games at home. That includes next week against Northern Colorado on Thursday (7 p.m.), and Northern Arizona on Saturday (2 p.m.).
