Jan. 3, 2008
TEMPE, Ariz. -
By Matt Storey, ASU Media Relations
The ASU men's basketball team opened the Pac-10 season with a 62-54 victory over Oregon Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena.
It is the Sun Devils' seventh consecutive win and improves them to 9-0 at home this season.
"I'm really proud of our guys," head coach Herb Sendek said. "I thought they showed tremendous resolve down the home stretch tonight, to get important stops and make plays to win the basketball game. Just a hard-fought win over an excellent basketball program."
Freshman guard James Harden led the scoring with 20 points, while junior forward Jeff Pendergraph had 17 on 7-8 shooting.
Pendergraph had just four points at halftime, but he scored eight points in the first three minutes of the second half as he went on to score 13 after the break.
"We want to get him the ball whenever we can, whenever he's open," Sendek said. "It was really good that Jeff got going in the second half. We were able to get him an easy one to start the second half, and from there he just took off for us."
Sophomore guard Derek Glasser had 10 points, seven coming in the final three minutes to help ASU put away the victory. He also had seven rebounds, seven assists and just one turnover in the win.
The Sun Devils held the Ducks to just 54 points, more than 30 points under their season average coming into the game, and they limited them to just 2-17 shooting from outside the arc.
"Just stopping their 3's and making sure they didn't get how they normally get 80 points," Pendergraph said of the key to the team's defensive effort. "I think they only had [two 3-pointers] the whole game, so that definitely helps."
The victory is ASU's first in a Pac-10 opener since the 2002-03 season, when the Sun Devils defeated Oregon State 67-47.
"I think it gives us a lot of confidence," Glasser said of the team starting the Pac-10 season with a win. "But we know that every Thursday and Saturday, it's a tough game. It's the number one conference in the country."
After ASU led early 12-9, the Ducks went on a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead with nine minutes left in the first half. The Sun Devils used a late 8-0 run, boosted by Harden's five free throws when he was fouled on 3-point attempts on consecutive possessions, to cut the deficit, and they trailed just 30-26 at the half.
Pendergraph's hot start in the second half helped ASU to a four-point lead, but the Ducks responded with 10 unanswered points to lead by six with 12 minutes to play.
However, the Sun Devils turned up the defense, as they held Oregon to just 37.5 percent shooting in the second half, and Harden gave ASU the lead again when he made a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with just under five minutes remaining.
Glasser then took over with less than three minutes to play, as he made two free throws, quickly stole the ball from Oregon on its next possession and drove for a breakaway layup that extended ASU's lead to five.
The Sun Devils then hit five of their six free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
ASU returns to action Saturday, hosting Oregon State at 2 p.m.