Jan. 2, 2009
Final Stats | Quotes | Notes | Game Action
Palo Alto, Calif.-
By Thomas Lenneberg, ASU Media Relations
Jeff Pendergraph scored a career-high 31 points as No. 17 Arizona State dominated previously unbeaten Stanford 90-60 in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.
The senior forward had to step up in a game which Pac-10 scoring leader James Harden went scoreless in the first half and Rihards Kuksiks, a three-point shooting maven, did not attempt a single long ball.
"You play so many games, you have to be able to win in different ways," coach Herb Sendek remarked about their big road victory. "You're not going to be able to win the same way every night . . . and it's incumbent upon the offense to try and find what's there. "
Pendergraph asserted his omnipotence from the opening whistle, scoring the game's first basket on a monstrous dunk. He ended the first half with 21 points, going 9-for-11 from the field. Earning his fourth double-double of the season, he finished with 11 rebounds and three blocks, a true testament to his dominance.
With Pendergraph controlling the middle, the sixth undefeated team remaining in Division I could not hang with the Sun Devils. With an array of dunks, lay-ups and free-throws, the Etiwanda, Calif. native scored 13 points in a row during one stretch, single-handily putting the game out of reach for the Cardinal.
"It was just a nice testament to show we're still rolling," summed up Pendergraph. Pendergraph wasn't the only hungry big man on the ASU roster who feasted on the Cardinal. Center Eric Boateng recorded eight points, doubling his season-high, and the pair combined to go 18-of-23 from the floor.
Harden, averaging 23.7 points-per-game, scored 17 points on only 14 shots. Instead, the 6'5" sophomore opted to play a distributor role, tying a career-high with 10 assists. He also let his presence be known on the defensive end, collecting a game-high three steals.
An impressive alley-oop from Derek Glasser to Pendergraph late in the first half extended the lead to 16 points and set the tone for the upcoming second half. The Sun Devils (12-1) turned their 13-point halftime lead into a 30-point rout, the largest margin of victory ever between the conference rivals and the worst home loss for Stanford since Feb. 5, 1987.
Glasser finished with 13 points and six assists, while Jamelle McMillan dropped eight and dished out three. The two guards knocked down a pair of three-pointers each, proving to the cardinal and white clad crowd that ASU can score inside-and-out.
Arizona State's staunch zone defense held Stanford to a season-low 37 percent shooting, including 2-of-18 from beyond the arc.