SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State posted a program-record 35 assists, and shot a Div. I-era best 65 percent from the field on the way to a 106-44 victory over Cal Maritime on Tuesday evening in the Nest.
Tonight marked the season opener for both teams, and the Hornets have now won nine of their last 14 openers. In addition, Sacramento State has won 14 straight home openers dating back to 2011.
This evening was also the first win of the
Michael Czepil era, as the Hornets' new head coach picked up his first collegiate victory. This season is the third for Czepil at Sacramento State, as the Melbourne, Australia, native spent the previous two seasons as the associate head coach.
Tonight marked just the second-ever meeting with Cal Maritime, an NAIA institution from Vallejo, Calif., and a member of the California Pacific Conference. The other meeting resulted in a 66-38 victory over the Keelhaulers in 2011.
The Hornets made 65% of their field goals (41-63), establishing a new Div. I-era single-game record, originally set against Eastern Washington (63%) in 2015. In addition, the Hornets had 35 assists on the 41 made buckets, surpassing the previous school record of 33 assists.
The Hornets scored exactly 53 points in both halves, and had large advantages in points in the paint (48-16), points off turnovers (28-11) and fast break points (33-8). In addition, the 106 points marks just the 14th time in the program's Div. I era (1991-pres.), the team hit the century mark.
All 11 Hornets cracked the scoring column, and six scored in double figures. Each of those six players scored between 11 and 16 points, and the Hornets were never really threatened. In fact, after Maritime jumped out to a 6-3 lead, the Hornets closed the final 17 minutes of the first half on a 50-7 run.
Of the six Hornets in double figures, three were playing their first games in a Sacramento State uniform, including
EJ Neal (16 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk),
Lachlan Brewer (13 pts, 3-3 3FG) and
Chudi Dioramma (12 pts, 6 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk). Returners
Jacob Holt had 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks,
Alex Kovatchev 13 points, and
Michael Wilson 11 points (4-4 FG, 2-2 3FG) also dropped double digits.
Jalen Pitre and
Bowyn Beatty both had eight rebounds,
Deonte Williams eight assists,
Emil Skytta eight points, and
Bailey Nunn six points and four assists. Williams posted a team-high +43 in plus/minus in 17 minutes, while Brewer and Dioramma were both +39. Of the Hornets' 106 points, 51 came off the bench.
Sacramento State plays three times over an eight-day stretch to being the season, including this Friday at Fresno State (7 p.m.), and next Tuesday at UC San Diego (7 p.m.). Every game this season will have a video stream, mostly on ESPN+. The entire home schedule will air on ESPN+.
