Feb. 9, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Freshman Jeff Pendergraph scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Arizona State past Oregon State 76-59 Thursday night, handing the Beavers their fifth straight loss and seventh in the last eight games.
Kevin Kruger added 17 points (including five three pointers) and Bryson Krueger 14 points, five rebounds and four assists as the Sun Devils (9-12, 3-9 Pac-10) earned their second straight win.
Oregon State (10-13, 3-9) was paced by Sasa Cuic's 23 points. Nick DeWitz added 16 points for the Beavers, all but three in the first half.
Pendergraph, who got his second career double-double, made a short hook and Kruger hit consecutive 3-pointers to give Arizona State a 57-40 lead with 12:13 remaining.
Oregon State never got closer than 14 from there.
Kruger was 5-of-8 from beyond the 3-point arc as the Sun Devils made a season-high nine 3-pointers and had a season-low eight turnovers.
Arizona State went on an 11-4 run to end the first half for a 38-29 en route to winning consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 21-22.
ASU has won eight straight against the Beavers and Rob Evans is now 12-4 against Oregon State in his eight years.
Sylvester Seay added 10 points while Antwi Atuahene added nine points, seven boards and seven assists.
FROSH COMING ON STRONG: Freshman Jeff Pendergraph, an early candidate for Pac-10 All-Freshman honors, is shooting .521 in the Pac-10 games (50-of-96). Among Pac-10 freshman, he is second in the league in points per game (9.8) and third in rebounds per game (5.6). Pendergraph now has nine double-figure scoring games on the year and is averaging 14.0 points and 7.4 boards in his past five contests. Since the calendar turned to 2006, Pendergraph is averaging 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds in those 10 games and is shooting 52.2 percent from the floor (46-of-88).
KRUGER LEADING THE WAY: Junior Kevin Kruger is among the Pac-10 leaders in minutes per game (38.4), three-point field goals made per game (2.76), free throw percentage (.794), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.49), steals (1.38 pg), assists (3.76 pg) and scoring (14.6 pg). Entering this week, Kruger and Ayinde Ubaka of California were the only players in the league to be ranked in the top ten in seven of the league's 13 individual statistical categories. Kruger has played eight 40-minute games on the year, including the past four contests, and is averaging 39.4 minutes in his past nine games.
POINT MAN: Sophomore Antwi Atuahene is averaging 7.3 points, 3.9 boards and 3.9 assists in 26.2 minutes per game (third-most on the team). His past eight games point to him becoming a key for the next two seasons. In the past nine games he is averaging 33.6 minutes, 8.9 points and 5.2 assists, including a career-high 21 points at Oregon on Jan. 12 and career-highs in minutes (42) and assists (eight) at Oregon State on Jan. 14, including the game-winning shot with eight seconds left in OT. He also had a career-high five steals against Arizona on Jan. 25.