Dec. 28, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Ike Diogu scored 20 points in 22 minutes as Arizona State beat Long Island 92-63 in Tuesday night's first round of the Arizona State Hoops Classic.
The Sun Devils (10-1) advance to Wednesday's championship game against Valparaiso, a 69-56 winner over Penn State earlier Tuesday.
Arizona State, which led by as much as 35, has won eight in a row for the first time since the 1980-81 season.
Aubin Scott scored 13 points to lead Long Island (4-5). The Blackbirds, which has lost three of their last four, committed 17 turnovers, leading to 14 Arizona State points, 13 in the first half when Long Island fell behind 49-22.
Steve Moore added 13 points for the Sun Devils, who made 9 of 16 3-pointers in their best offensive output of the season.
Arizona State used an early 15-5 run to take control, making 19 of 33 field goals in the first half. Long Island missed 11 of its last 15 shots before halftime, falling behind 49-22.
The Sun Devils made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the first half against the best defense against the 3-pointer in the country. The Blackbirds came into the game allowing a 22.7 percentage from beyond the arc.
Arizona State held James Williams to zero points on 0-for-4 shooting in the first half. Williams entered the game averaging 14.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists a game. He finished with 11 points on 32 of 12 shooting.
The Sun Devils have won 27 of their 37 holiday tournaments, including 11 of the last 15.