Five games in nine days, a round-trip flight across the Pacific Ocean and the pressure that goes along with playing an underdog hungry for an upset didn't slow the ASU men's basketball team Saturday afternoon.
Head coach Rob Evans got contributions from everyone in uniform as the Sun Devils got off to a blistering start and cruised to an 85-62 victory over Lafayette. Even ASU reserve guard Brandon Goldman got a piece of the action by draining a three-pointer in the game's waning moments that resulted in a loud cheer from the 5,767 in attendance at Wells Fargo Arena.
"They really mustered it up and got after these guys," Evans said. "Mentally, they fought through some fatigue. I'm tired, so I know they're tired."
Evans worried that his players might not have been ready when having to play 72 hours after their last game at the Maui Invitational, where they laced it up three times in as many days. But the Sun Devils (4-1) looked fresh when going on a 17-0 run that allowed them to build a 21-4 lead with 12:04 remaining in the first half.
ASU freshman forward Ike Diogu, who scored six of his game-high 27 points during the five-minute stretch, capped the scoring spree with a dunk off senior shooting guard Curtis Millage's miss. He then converted a three-point play six minutes later in part of ASU's 13-0 run that stretched its lead to 28 points with 5:08 left before the break.
"I just try to react to what the defense is doing," said Diogu, who made 9 of 14 shots from the field and was 9-for-13 from the free throw line. "I don't want to make a move too quick because then I start getting out of my game. I just take whatever the defense gives me."
The Leopards (0-3) assembled a 10-0 run midway through the second half to cut the deficit to 18 points with 10:22 remaining. However, head coach Fran O'Hanlon's team didn't bring as much intensity on the defensive end as ASU, which held Lafayette to 33.3 percent shooting from inside the arc.
"In the second half, we came out a little sluggish," said Sun Devil senior forward Tommy Smith, who had four blocks to go along with 12 points and five rebounds. "Since we've been here, we're a team with no excuses and we're going to stick with that. No matter what the reason is, we weren't as concentrated in the second half as we were in the first half."
Millage, who took to the bench with 17:31 to go after picking up his fourth foul, scored only 10 points in 24 minutes in his first game at Ned Wulk Court since returning from a lengthy dilemma concerning his academic eligibility. However, ASU senior forward Donnell Knight picked up the slack with seven points and eight rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end.
"He provided some of the energy we needed in the second half," Evans said. "He's getting better. I was really proud of his effort."
Lafayette was led by junior guard Winston Davis, who scored a team-high 14 points. Senior guard Andrew Pleick added 12 for the Leopards. Game notes
GAME NOTES: The Sun Devils improved to 4-1 for just the third time in the past 10 years ... Diogu's 27 points, which were the most by a Sun Devil freshman since Mario Bennett scored a school-record 35 against UA on Feb. 20, 1992, were the fourth-most by a freshman in school history ... ASU junior forward Jamal Hill turned the ball over for only the second time in the last five games ... Sun Devil sophomore guard Jason Braxton tallied three assists and two steals to add to his team-leading total in each statistical category.
UP NEXT: ASU is scheduled to return to action at 7 p.m. Wednesday when hosting Brigham Young at Wells Fargo Arena. The Cougars, who edged the Sun Devils 82-70 last year in Provo, Utah, captured the University of the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam title last week with victories over Toledo, Kansas State and St. Bonaventure.