By Cal Aboud, SDA Media Relations
Tempe, Ariz. – Seven Sun Devils scored in double figures, as the Arizona State men’s basketball team cruised to a 102-34 exhibition victory over Western New Mexico Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.
“Good start for us obviously beginning our season; just to play under the lights and get a feel with officials out there, get the kinks out.” said first-year head coach Bobby Hurley. ”We just had a good effort defensively, really solid, the numbers support that. I think we had good balance. A lot of things that I’ve been seeing throughout the practices here is carrying over to the floor. Lot of guys playing well, playing unselfishly, 20 assists in the game is a really good number for us. So we’re happy about a lot of things that went on today.”
Newcomer Obina Oleka led the way recording a double-double, finishing with a game-high 18 points along with 12 rebounds. Andre Spight (15), Tra Holder (13), Willie Atwood (12), Kodi Justice (12), Gerry Blakes (11), and Eric Jacobsen (11) all recorded solid outings scoring in double figures.
The Sun Devils outscored the Mustangs 54-8 in the first half, shooting 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the field, 38.5 percent (5-for-13) from beyond the arc, and 90.0 percent (9-10) from the foul line. Senior Willie Atwood led the way posting 10, while Justice and Spight added nine and eight respectively.
Limited to just eight points in the half, the Mustangs shot just 10.3 percent (3-29) from the field and 7.1 percent (1-14) from the arc.
After a jumper from Carter Aby of Western New Mexico cut the Sun Devils lead to 17-8, with 13:59 remaining in the half, Arizona State held the Mustangs scoreless for the remainder of the opening half going on what would accumulate to a 43-0 run that extended two minutes into the second period.
In total the Sun Devils pulled down 31 boards in the half. Blakes led all players with seven, while Atwood grabbed six.
The Sun Devils continued to roll in the second half. Defensively Arizona State held the Mustangs to 23.3 percent from the field. Building on an already impressive lead Bobby Hurley’s squad went 21-of-41 from the field in the final period, closing the contest ahead 102-34.
Up next, The Sun Devils will kick off the 2015-16 campaign Fri. Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. MT., in Tempe hosting Sacramento State for the second time in three years. The game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. The Hornets are coming off one of their best seasons in program history posting a 21-12 record while making it to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. 2015-16 marked the first season in the programs Div. I tenure (’91-present) in which they posted a record above the .500 mark resulting in the team’s first postseason appearance since 1988. Led by the Big Sky Conference co-Coach of the Year Brian Katz, Sacramento State returns three starters including rising senior guard Cody Demps (9.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg).
COACH HURLEY QUOTES
Did you accomplish what you wanted to accomplish?
"Yeah I mean everyone got a feel for playing in a real game setting, in game conditions, preparation for a game, so I believe that that could help in our opener in terms of not feeling the nerves. But we have an important week ahead of us to get back to the practice floor and tighten things up for our first game Friday."
How do you keep the guys competitive?
"I mean we just talk about before the game just playing every possession to the highest level we can play. To beat the very best teams we’re competing against, you have to build the habit of trying to make every possession on offense and defense throughout a 40 minute game the best you can make it. We talked about what I’m sure a lot of coaches say at halftime that it’s 0-0 and don’t play the scoreboard, and keep the standard up in how we compete."
Is it hard to see deficiencies?
"Well I mean I feel bad in a sense for Western New Mexico there and what they had to go through, but I’m in a tough bind because we have to get the repetitions. Our guys need the minutes to prepare for our opener so typically I wouldn’t try and have those guys playing the minutes that they played but in preparation for our season I had to do it."
How did the newcomers preform?
"I wanted to get them even more minutes. Andre Spight looked sharp in his minutes. He was very efficient. He had some foul issues that hopefully he’ll learn from, picking up two fouls early in a half isn’t a great thing, so we talked about that with him. Obinna Oleka and Maurice O’Field just to get them more minutes. They’re coming from junior college and haven’t been at the Division I level so it was good for them to get more playing time today."
Multiple players going after offensive rebounds
"We can’t assume that a player’s going to make a shot, we hope that he will. We talk about in practice just being aggressive, going to the offensive glass, generating another possession for us. I thought Maurice O’Field and Willie Atwood especially in the first half really had great energy to go to the glass. We’re going to need to do that consistently. They weren’t the biggest team either so it made sense for our guys to try to crash hard."
Rotations without Savon
"Obviously it’s a plus we played this well and he wasn’t a part of it. He’s getting back to the practice floor, he’s been doing more and more each day. So we’re encouraged about him getting back into the fold. He brings the energy and the rebound and a lot of things we need from him."
Chemistry in the transition
"I’d have to look at the film more specifically. We’re in a bind because we didn’t run a lot of offense today, we didn’t run many of the plays we’d normally run in a game because I don’t like to do that in an exhibition game in case someone might be examining our game really closely. I wanted them to play in the flow in the game. I think the ball moved very well. I thought Cody Justice really passed the ball well today and did a good job finding the open men after we penetrate."
Eric critical?
"Our assistant coach Levi Watkins works with all front court guys. He does a great job, he was with me at Buffalo as well. We coached the player of the year a couple years on the front court, I know he had some impact on that. Eric has been very motivated, he’s worked extremely hard on his body and his game. This is his last year, he wants to have a great individual season and team success. He shows up every day to work. He’s very consistent about his work ethic. He’s got good touch and feel around the basket, and he can pass, so I like what he brings to the table."
Active hands on defense
"We want to be aggressive at that end and try and be active. We don’t want a team to feel comfortable playing against us or get in a great rhythm on offense. So it’s stuff we talk about, about activity. We watch film and if it’s not happening we’ll address it. It is an important part to defense and disrupting the timing of your opponent."
GERRY BLAKES QUOTES...
On staying competitive during a big lead against Western New Mexico:
"In a situation like this we just want to get better. We want to continue to create good habits and keep working hard and doing the things that we're taught to do. It was great getting after it against someone else for the first time besides a scrimmage. All-in-all we just have to keep getting better and keep creating great habits for our team."
On meeting Coach Hurley's expectations:
"I'm not sure [if we met Coach Hurley's expectations], we'll find out tomorrow at practice. I'm sure he'll find some things that we can get better at, so that's always a plus. I think we did good as a team. I think there's some things we can get better at. I also feel like we practiced good habits and did the things that I think we're supposed to do... I know there isn't a perfect game. So that's when the coaches come into their roles to help us improve in those areas"
On getting the newcomers involved in the offense:
"It's a rodeo when you have new guys. You've got to get them acclimated. You've got to get them comfortable. You've also got to get them prepared for bigger things. Letting them see the ball go in the hole can be important for them and give them confidence. I'm just doing what I feel is best to help our team. They did great. We're a very unselfish team. We like to pass the ball around and let everybody get touches. I feel like we did a great job of getting the new guys acclimated and getting their feet wet a little bit."
On Coach Hurley's freedom-of-movement offense:
"In practice he gives us ideas of where we can be effective in a situation like that so we work on those things. So when the time presents itself, we know what to do and it's kind of familiar. I think that's a big thing that he does, just preparing us for situations in game time.
On the Sun Devils' aggressive defense:
"A blue-collar mentality to get after it on defense and stop people, I think that's the thing that Coach Hurley emphasizes most. That's something that us as a team, as an extension of him, would like to display as well... Being that this is our first game with jerseys on in front of people, I think that we always have room for improvement. I feel like game after game after game we'll come together and we'll build that cohesiveness that we need."