Starch Sadness: Hornets exit conference tournament in first round after Idaho blowout

After a regular season filled with more ups than downs, the Sacramento State Hornets had the chance to start with a clean slate in the Big Sky Conference tournament, better known as Starch Madness.

Ahead of them were the Idaho Vandals, a team that beat them in both regular season matchups between the two.

It was notably slow to start, with neither team registering a point for the opening 5:12 of the game, at which point sophomore guard Arman Madi made a free throw to make the score 1-0.

From that point on, the Vandals were able to pick up their pace a bit, opening the floodgates and finishing the half with 27 points. The same could not be said about the Hornets, who ended the opening period with just 13 points.

“In the first half, neither team was making shots. They eventually started to hit shots,” head coach Mike Bibby said. “We just never got the lid off our basket.”

The figurative lid would remain tightly sealed in the second half for Sac State, as they ended the game scoring just 45 points, their lowest tally of the season. Idaho were able to put up 41 points in the closing 20 minutes, winning the game 68-45 and ending the Hornets’ season.

RELATED: Seniority: Sac State sons Idaho State in blowout win

Sac State’s loss can be heavily attributed to their shooting woes, with the team collectively shooting 14-for-55 from the field, a percentage of 25.5%. Their 3-point shooting only connected on three of their 17 attempts, leaving them at 17.6%.

Senior guard Prophet Johnson, who was announced to be on the all-Big Sky second team and the Big Sky all-defensive team on Friday, had just nine points on 3-for-12 shooting, along with four assists, two rebounds and two steals.

“If you shoot like that the whole game, there’s no way you can win,” Johnson said. “The ball has to go in the hoop at the end of the day.”

Madi had nine points as well, shooting 2-for-8. He had five rebounds, two assists and two steals of his own as well.

“It took a while to see one go in, so even to get in rhythm was tough,” Madi said. “But it was like that for both teams, so you gotta adjust.”

Neither Madi nor Johnson led the team in scoring, as that honor went to junior guard Jahni Summers, who had 10. He shot 4-for-7 from the field, the only Hornet to shoot over 50% from anywhere other than the free-throw line.

The Vandals didn’t play up to their regular standard either. Normally known for their 3-point shooting, Idaho shot just 21.2% from long range in the game against the Hornets, yet they still managed to pull out the win. It was the exact kind of performance Sac State would have hoped for them to have, but were just unable to capitalize on it.

Vandals forward Jackson Rasmussen, the Big Sky Freshman of the Year, led the game in scoring with 19 points. Trailing closely behind him was redshirt sophomore guard Kolton Mitchell, who had 17.

For Bibby and his squad, the game marked not only the end of their season but also the end of Sac State’s time in the Big Sky Conference. With the team moving to the Big West next season, the loss against Idaho was their last ever Big Sky game.

While reflecting on his first season as a collegiate coach, Bibby said that while he doesn’t know what his roster might look like next year, his inaugural team will always be close to him.

“These guys will always have a place in my heart, you know, for helping me get off the ground. I got a ball signed by everybody,” Bibby said. “With this portal thing, you never know how things are gonna go.”