MOSCOW, Idaho -- One of the luckiest game-winning shots you will see sunk Sacramento State at the buzzer Thursday evening at ICCU Arena.

After the Hornets had tied the game on an Akol Mawein 3-pointer with three seconds to play, Idaho threw a 65-foot inbounds pass that found the hands of Quinn Denker. After Denker secured the ball, while fading to his right, threw up a 25-foot prayer that hit backboard and banked in as the buzzer sounded. The shot, which was well off the mark when it left Denker's hands, gave Idaho the win in a game that marked the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams.

Sacramento State, which outscored Idaho, 36-28, in the second half, knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions during the final 49 seconds to tie things at 58-58. After an Idaho timeout, the Vandals threw a baseball pass to Julius Mims who handed off to a streaking Denker who buried the game winner.

The fortuitous shot, which fell in clean after the backboard bank, ended a game in which Idaho led for over 36 minutes of game clock. However, Sacramento State kept within striking distance for a good portion of the second half, never trailing by more than six points the final 11 minutes.

A close game is nothing new to these two teams. Entering tonight's game, three of the last five matchups between the teams had gone to overtime. In fact, the lucky game winner prevented what would have been the third straight overtime meeting in Moscow between the Hornets and Vandals.

Idaho improved to 7-6 overall and 1-0 in league play, while the Hornets dropped to 3-9 and 0-1 in conference. Sacramento State has now dropped four games this season that were decided by four points or less.

One of the nation's top 3-point shooting teams, the Hornets finished the game 60% from distance, connecting on 9-of-15 attempts. That included 7-for-7 from deep in the second half. Zee Hamoda was 4-for-4 from the stripe for 12 points, and he connected at the 49-second mark to draw the Hornets within three points.

Both teams shot 40 percent from the field, but Idaho connected on three more field goals and used a 10-5 advantage in second chance points. Sacramento State left points at the free throw line, connecting on 13-for-20 (65%) from the stripe while Idaho was 12-of-15 (80%). The Vandals held a 33-22 advantage at halftime, but were limited to 36% shooting in the second half.

Sophomore Duncan Powell led the Hornets in scoring for the seventh time, finishing with 20 points and eight rebounds in 31 minutes. Mawein had 13 points (nine in the second half) to go with a game-high tying nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Rounding out the three Hornets in double figures were Hamoda's 12 points to go with two steals. Hamoda was also a game-best +10 in plus/minus. No other Hornet scored more than five points.

Austin Patterson had five points and two assists, both Alex Kovatchev and Bowyn Beatty had three points, and Emil Skytta finished with two points and a game-best four assists.

The Hornets return to action for a Saturday afternoon road matchup at Eastern Washington. Tip at Reese Court is set for 2 p.m.