Cats Come Up Short to Sacramento State, 83-80

Thursday, January 29

Sacramento, Calif.

8 p.m.

Montana State University

13-9,7-2Big Sky

Sacramento State

7-13,3-5Big Sky

Montana St.

Sacramento St.

Photo by: Courtesy Sacramento State Sports Information

1/29/2026 11:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Miller, King combine for 48 points in road loss

By: Pershelle Rohrer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Jed Miller tallied a 25-point, 11-rebound double-double and Christian King added 23 points and seven rebounds, but the Bobcats saw their four-game winning streak snapped, 83-80, in a close battle with Sacramento State on Thursday.

The Bobcats battled close with the Hornets for much of the second half but were unable to overcome Sacramento State's sharp shooting as the Hornets made six of their last seven shots to close the game. The Bobcats (13-9, 7-2 Big Sky) knocked down an impressive 15 threes, but the Hornets (7-13, 3-5 Big Sky) shot 56.1% from the floor to earn the narrow victory in Hornet Pavilion.

"It's really impressive," head coach Matt Logie said of Miller's performance. "He's really taken an ownership role with this group from day one, and he's putting his play behind it. He really carried us at a lot of moments today. We just fell short from a couple plays here or there. We were 2-of-11 from two in the second half, had some really good looks, and didn't finish well. We knew there was a chance that they could make some tough shots, and Prophet [Johnson] and Mikey [Williams] are very talented guys, but we just weren't able to match the efficiency tonight."

King shot lights out for the Bobcats in the first half, tallying 12 points in under eight minutes to open the game as Montana State opened the game with an 18-13 lead. The redshirt sophomore made five of his first six shots of the game, three of which came from deep, while Miller added a three and Jeremiah Davis sunk a two to bring the Cats' point total to 18 at the 12:37 mark in the first half. The Hornets tallied the next five points to tie the game at 18, and the two teams alternated buckets over the next two minutes before the Hornets went on a 7-0 run to take their first lead, 27-22, with 8:48 on the clock.

The Bobcats cut their deficit to three points twice as Miller found his groove late in the first half, but back-to-back threes by Sacramento State's Arman Madi and Prophet Johnson helped the Hornets push their lead to 35-26 at the 4:32 mark. Sac State's largest lead of the half came on a Mikey Williams three-point shot to put the Hornets up, 45-35, before Seth Amunrud countered with a clutch three with 17 seconds remaining to stop the bleeding heading into the break. The Hornets outshot the Bobcats, 58.1% to 44.1%, from the floor in the first half and held the 45-38 advantage at halftime. King led the Cats with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the half, and Miller posted 12 points and eight rebounds as the two players combined for all but seven of Montana State's first-half points.

The Bobcats cut into the Hornets' lead in the opening minutes of the second half, using an 8-3 run capped off by a Davis three with 17:12 remaining in regulation to trim Sac State's lead to 50-46. The Hornets then countered with six-straight points to push their lead back to a game-high 10 points, 56-46 at the 14:55 mark. The Bobcats chipped at the deficit until the midway point in the half, when Davis knocked down a pair of free throws followed by an Amunrud three to bring the Cats back within one point, 62-61, with 9:32 to play. Both teams took turns retaking the lead over the next five minutes, with Montana State leading, 71-69, with 4:39 to go before the Hornets used an 8-1 run to go back in front for good, 77-72, with two minutes remaining. With Montana State trailing, 81-77, in the final seconds, Miller knocked down a clutch three to pull the Cats within one, 81-80, with four seconds to play. Williams sunk both his free throws on the other end, and Montana State was unable to connect on a buzzer-beater to send the game to overtime as the Hornets came away with the 83-80 win on their home court.

Despite being outshot, 56.1% to 40.6%, in the contest, the Bobcats tallied 15 three-pointers to Sacramento State's eight in a high-scoring affair in Sacramento. The Bobcats won the rebounding battle, 39-30, including 14-3 off the offensive glass while tallying 14 second-chance points to the Hornets' two. Sac State dominated in the paint, 40-18, while tallying 24 fast-break points to the Bobcats' two.

Miller posted his second double-double of the year and third-straight 20-point game to lead the Bobcats' effort in Sacramento. He finished with 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting (6-of-12 from three), 11 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and one block, leading the Bobcats in all categories except the latter. King recorded his second-straight 20-point game and 13^th double-digit effort of the season with 23 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Davis tallied 10 points, three boards, and one steal in his return from injury, and Amunrud chipped in nine points, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks. The Bozeman native led the team in each of the latter two categories.

Montana State concludes the month of January with a trip to Portland State on Saturday at 3 p.m. MT. The game will air live on ESPN+ from Viking Pavilion.

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