Dec. 29, 2007
TEMPE, Ariz. --
By Matt Storey, ASU Media Relations
The ASU men's basketball team remained unbeaten at home this season and ran its winning streak to six games with a 95-56 win over St. Francis (Pa.) Saturday.
The Sun Devils shot 72.1 percent from the field, including 11-15 from 3-point range, to give ASU its most points since defeating USC 100-85 on Jan. 17, 2004.
"I thought our guys played a really good game today," head coach Herb Sendek said. "Offensively, we were really sharp. The numbers are remarkable. Guys played with a lot of cohesiveness offensively."
Five players scored in double figures for the Sun Devils, with freshman guard James Harden leading the way with 21 points on 6-7 shooting, including 3-4 from outside the arc.
Junior forward Jeff Pendergraph had 19 points, making all five of his field goal attempts and going 9-10 at the free throw line, while freshman guard Ty Abbott also scored 19, shooting 5-8 from 3-point range.
Harden, Pendergraph and Abbott combined to score ASU's first 34 points and 47 of the team's 51 points in the first half.
Sophomore guard Derek Glasser had 11 points, and sophomore center Eric Boateng added 12 points, all in the second half.
"I was really happy to see Eric play so well in the second half," Sendek said. "The guys did a great job of getting him the ball. He went up strong around the basket and did a terrific job finishing for us."
St. Francis shot just 38.2 percent from the field, including making just five of their 21 3-point attempts.
"Defensively, we did a much better job of covering today," Sendek said. "St. Francis is an excellent 3-point shooting team. We were not at all pleased with our defensive effort the previous two games. Today, we were much better."
The Sun Devils jumped out to a 23-4 lead, and their lead was never less than 13 from that point on. They led by as many as 28 in the first half before taking a 51-27 lead into halftime.
They then made their first 11 field goal attempts of the second half, not missing a shot until more than 12 minutes into the half when they had already extended the lead to 38 points. In total, the ASU was 16-20 from the field in the second half.
The Sun Devils now begin Pac-10 play when they host Oregon Thursday at 7 p.m.
"We know what we have to do," Harden said of the team's expectations for the conference season. "It's up to us, how far we want to go in the Pac-10. We've got a couple of days to prepare for Oregon, and we'll take it from there."