Sac State Ends Skid, Extends Eastern’s

Senior guard Damond Edwards scored a career-high 36 points as Sacramento State pulled away in the second half and ended an eight-game losing streak with a 97-83 Big Sky Conference victory Saturday night over Eastern Washington.

Arthur Tate contributed a career-high 21 points for the Hornets, who shot 53.2 percent and scored their most points this season before 1,023 at Memorial Auditorium.

Edwards made 12 of 20 shots, including a school-record six 3-pointers, as the Hornets (3-17, 2-8) claimed their first victory since a 69-61 home win Jan. 7 over Portland State.

Jon Berger scored 15 points for the Eagles (6-15, 2-9), who dropped their seventh straight. Mike Sims, Karim Scott, Kevin Lewis and Travis King all contributed 12 points for EWU.

It was Sacramento State’s first triumph over the Eagles since a 68-67 win on Jan. 19, 1985. The Hornets’ 97 points were the most by Sacramento State since a 110-106 loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee during the 1991-92 season.

Michael Boyd added 15 of his 19 points in the second half for the Hornets, and equaled Tate with a game-high 10 rebounds.

Edwards’ 3-pointer with 14:21 left in the first half gave the Hornets a 13-12 lead, their first of the game. Sacramento State completed a 9-0 run and eventually built its margin to six points before Eastern Washington began to rally.

Edwards’ second 3-pointer of the game tied it at 36 with 51 seconds left before intermission. But Luke Egan followed with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, pushing Eastern Washington to a 39-36 halftime cushion.

Sacramento St. 97, E. Wash. 83

E. Washington (6-15) - Sims 4-6 4-4 12, Scott 5-8 2-4 12, K. Lewis 6-10 0-0 12, King 5-10 0-3 12, M. Lewis 4-10 0-4 8, Moss-Kelley 2-7 0-0 4, Claus 0-0 0-0 0, Egan 3-9 0-0 7, Berger 7-9 1-2 14, Turner 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 36-70 8-19 83.

Sacramento St. (3-17) - Faison 1-2 0-0 2, Boyd 7-9 5-11 19, Tate 7-11 7-11 21, Drakeford 2-7 2-2 7, Edwards 12 20 6-7 36, Carey 3-10 1-2 10, Jenkins 0-1 0-0 0, Victor 1-2 0-0 2, Swift 0-0 0-0 0, Westermann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-62 21-33 97.

Halftime-E. Washington 39, Sacramento St. 36. 3-Point goals-E. Washington 3-14 (King 2-4, Egan 1-4, M. Lewis 0-3 Moss-Kelley 0-3), Sacramento St. 10-22 (Edwards 6-10, Carey 3-10, Drakeford 1-2). Fouled out-Scott, M. Lewis. Rebounds- E. Washington 40 (Scott 9), Sacramento St. 44 (Boyd, Tate 10). Assists-E. Washington 21, (Claus 5), Sacramento St. 24 (Drakeford 10). Total fouls-E. Washington 25, Sacramento St. 17. A-1,023.