SACRAMENTO -- Sacramento State went on a 12-2 run over the final 7:37 to propel the Hornets to a 64-62 victory over Presbyterian on Sunday afternoon at Hornet Pavilion.
In a game Presbyterian led for over 31 minutes of game clock (31:05), it was Sacramento State that tightened up the defense late. The Blue Hose missed 12 of their final 13 shots from the field, including a Triston Wilson heavily contested 13-footer at the buzzer.
A steal and fast break layup by
Prophet Johnson gave the Hornets a 62-60 lead with 2:52 remaining. That was the Hornets' first lead in over 29 minutes of clock. Presbyterian immediately responded with a dunk from Jaylen Peterson to tie the score (62-62) at the 2:28 mark, but the Blue Hose would not score again. Sacramento State received a free throw from Johnson (1:26) and
Shaqir O'Neal (1:02) in the final 90 seconds to provide the final outcome.
Presbyterian held a nine-point halftime lead (36-27), and pushed that advantage to a game-high 11 points (44-33) with 17:06 left. However, the Blue Hose would score just 18 points the remainder of the contest. Presbyterian shot 39% from the field, and just 33% (11-33) in the second half, including 0-for-10 from distance. Sacramento State shot 46% from the field, and converted five more free throws (18-25, 72%). The Hornets also had a 22-8 advantage in fast break points and outscored the Blue Hose, 37-26, in the second half.
Sacramento State improved to 3-2 with the victory, and 3-1 on its home floor. The Hornets, who were playing their second leg of a stretch of three games in five days, do not return home until Nov. 25.
Today's game is part of the Empire Classic MTE, which began today and concludes Nov. 25. Four teams are competing in the event, comprised of 15th-ranked UCLA, Cal, Presbyterian and the Hornets. As part of the tournament, Sacramento State will also play road games at UCLA (Nov. 18) and Cal (Nov. 21).
Presbyterian is a Div. I school from Clinton, S.C., that resides in the Big South Conference. The Blue Hose saw their record fall to 3-3.
A pair of Hornets scored in double figures, led by
Jeremiah Cherry's 17 points and 10 rebounds - his third double-double of the season. Twelve of those points came in the second half.
Mikey Williams had 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal. Both Cherry and Williams have scored in double figures in each of the team's first five games of the season.
Johnson had eight points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a blocked shot. The senior saw his streak of three straight double-doubles come to an end. O'Neal had seven points, six rebounds and was a team-high +7 in plus/minus.
Jayden Teat added nine points,
Jahni Summers five points, and
Brandon Gardner four points, two rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots.
Sacramento State is back in action on Tuesday when the team plays at 15th-ranked UCLA at 7:30 p.m. The Hornets have never beaten the Bruins (0-3), losing each of those games on the road in 2022, 2013 and 2005. In the most recent matchup on Nov. 7, 2022, Sacramento State fell to UCLA, 76-50.
Notables
• Sacramento State used the same starting lineup for the fifth straight games - Summers, Johnson and Williams at guard, and O'Neal and Cherry at forward
• The Hornets have just one home game (Nov. 25 vs. San Francisco State) between now and their Big Sky Conference home opener vs. Northern Arizona on Jan. 15.
• Today was Kids Day, and Hornet player signed autographs after the game
