By Lindsay Gaesser, SDA Media Relations
Tempe, Ariz.—Overcoming a 15-point deficit, the Arizona State men’s basketball team battled back triumphantly to coast past the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, 77-55, Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Arena. The 22-point win marks ASU head coach Herb Sendek’s 400th career win.
YOUNGEST ACTIVE COACHES 400 WINS (BIRTHDAY IN PARENTHESES)
Billy Donovan, Florida (May 30, 1965)
Steve Alford, UCLA (Nov. 23, 1964)
Herb Sendek, ASU (Feb. 22, 1963)
“We were really pleased with our guys,” said Sendek. “They kept their poise and composure when we fell behind by 15 early. They had the discipline they needed to stick to the game plan. We have a saying in our program, ‘Things are rarely as good or bad as they seem.’ So once we regrouped, from that point on we played arguably our best game.”
Junior Eric Jacobsen led the Sun Devils with a season-high 16 points and 12 rebounds, his second double-double of the season.
“I feel good about my play, but I also feel good that the team is playing well,” said Jacobsen. “It is not just a one man team, we have five guys on the floor and they are all playing hard too.”
Freshman Kodi Justice, junior Gerry Blakes, and senior Bo Barnes also posted double digits. Justice, who had 13 points in his first career-start at Wells Fargo Arena, was three of five from downtown.
“It was great,” said Justice of his first home start. “With the team being so unselfish, people coming off the bench like Bo and Jon [Gilling], and with a great leader like E.J. [Eric Jacobsen], it made my job a lot easier. It was that much better with the win.”
“The one thing he has going for him is that he is fearless,” said Sendek of Justice’s performance. “Even when he does make a mistake, he is unflappable. He just has that something that can’t be coached. In today’s popular vernacular he has ‘swag.’ In a good way.”
In the opening minutes of the game, ASU was one for six from the field—its only bucket coming from Blakes—and shot .167 from the field compared to UNLV’s .600. The Rebels jumped to an early 9-2 lead in the first three minutes and continued to pull away with a 12-4 scoring run.
Not giving up just yet, the Sun Devils got the spark they needed with an 11-point swing that included back-to-back threes from Barnes and Jonathan Gilling and five points from Justice. ASU trailed UNLV 23-21 with less than 10 minutes till halftime.
Another set of back-to-back treys from Barnes and Justice gave the Sun Devils their first lead of the game. As time ran out in the first half, both teams headed to the locker rooms with the score tied at 37.
Jacobsen opened scoring in the second half with a dunk off of an assist from junior Willie Atwood. The score remained close early in the half, as both teams suffered a scoring drought—UNLV shot .267 from the field, while ASU shot .400.
Shaking off the drought, the Sun Devils went on a 10-4 run, pulling away with the lead and never looking back. ASU outshot UNLV .441 to .242 in the second half, and the three was a huge factor. The Sun Devils were 11 for 22 from beyond the arc for the night, while the Rebels were five for 19.
Overall, ASU outshot UNLV .435 to .365 from the field and .857 to .571 from the free throw line. Continuing their selfless offense, the Sun Devils assisted 19 of 27 field goals.
“It makes it fun to coach” said Sendek of the team’s selflessness. “I wouldn’t trade our team for any other team because I enjoy being in the gym with this group. I am not saying we are the best team—we still have a lot of work ahead of us. But in terms of just having a team that is easy to cheer for and a team that we can all be proud of, this group has been as good as we have had.”
Next up, the Sun Devils head to College Station, Texas, to take on Texas A&M on Saturday, Dec. 6.
“It’ll be another tough test for us,” said Sendek. “Texas A&M is an outstanding team in the Southeastern Conference, and they're expected to be one of the better teams in that league this year. It is our first true road test after having played two road games at a neutral site. We can enjoy this victory tonight, but tomorrow morning we will be here because we have a short amount of time to prepare for A&M.”
The game takes place at 1 p.m. CT/12 M.S.T. on Saturday, and will be televised on SEC Networks.
REMEMBER THIS: ASU has won 13 straight at home for the first time since it won 13 straight with victories in the final seven home games of 1979-80 and then first six of 1980-81. ASU has gone 39-5 in its past 44 home games and has won 21 of its past 22 in Wells Fargo Arena. The current streak started on Jan. 5 last year, when ASU topped Washington State 66-47 after losing its Pac-12 home opener to Washington. ASU in that time beat Utah (NIT), Colorado (NCAA), Oregon State, Oregon (NCAA), second-ranked Arizona (NCAA Elite Eight), Stanford (NCAA Sweet 16), and future Hall of Fame Coach Mike Montgomery of California (NIT) in what turned out to be his final Pac-12 regular season game. ASU is holding opponents to 258-of-670 (.385) from the field and 60 points per game.