Sac State packs the Pavilion, but Hornets suffer first loss. Mike Bibby reacts
It’s the little things that irk Mike Bibby in this sport.
As in, fundamentals. This includes boxing out for rebounds, or making the extra pass, and making free throws. The Sacramento State men’s basketball coach was partly pleased with a gritty effort Tuesday night against the best team his Hornets have faced, but lapses continue to frustrate Bibby.
UC Santa Barbara defeated Sac State 92-87, the first loss for the Hornets after a 2-0 start and the first setback for Bibby in his first tour as a head collegiate coach.
The third consecutive packed house at Hornet Pavilion with 2,743 fans witnessed an entertaining game, and it might have been the third successive triumph if a few things went Sac State’s way. Sac State opened the season with wins over Division II Dominican University of the Bay Area, 103-79, and Jessup University of Placer County, 86-76, last week to usher in a new era of Hornets hoops before welcoming a Gauchos program that has been among the best in the Big West Conference for years.
The Hornets shot well enough to prevail against a program that hails from the conference Sac State will join in basketball starting next season, as they made 52 % of their attempts. Sac State was outrebounded by three, but it felt more lopsided, Bibby and Hornets players said, and the Gauchos made 13 of 27 3-point shots compared to Sac State’s 10 of 21.
And so it goes.
“A lot of stuff we need to work on,” Bibby said. “The little things, like allowing a lot of blow-bys, our defense breaking down. We’re not engaging the pick-and-roll offensively. We give up four rebounds in a row to start the second half. The effort has to be there at all times. That’s a good team that we played. I thought we did a lot of good stuff, but we also did a lot of bad stuff. We have to have the good outweigh the bad.”
The former Sacramento Kings star guard added that a lot of the mistakes are correctable. The roster remains a work in progress for a program with 14 new players and a new coaching staff and new home digs.
“They gotta buy in,” Bibby said of his team on embracing fundamentals. “We work on defense every day. We work on defensive rotations every day, and they’re not putting it into the game. I think once they do that, we’re going to take off, because it’s right there.”
Bibby added, “We bring you guys the water, but we can’t drink it for you. You’ve got to be grown men and be accountable.”
One player who was right there and on point was guard Mikey Williams. The point guard had a game-high 30 points to go with five assists. Hornets big man Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry had 20 points and seven rebounds, guard Prophet Johnson had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and 2024-25 Sacramento Bee Player of the Year Mark Lavrenov had eight points and three rebounds in 12 minutes of inspired play off the bench as a true freshman out of Rocklin High School of Placer County.
Cherry said offense isn’t a problem for Sacramento State. Making stops is.
“We gave up too many points,” the senior said transfer from UNLV said. “If we would have just played a little bit better defense, we would have blown them out of the water. We’re excited for what we can do.”
Colin Smith, Miro Little and Aidan Mahaney each scored 17 points for UC Santa Barbara, which improved to 3-0 on the season and 7-1 all-time against Sac State in a series that dates back to 1954.
Sac State visits UC Davis on Friday night and hosts Presbyterian of South Carolina on Sunday before games at UCLA and Cal.