By Cal, SDA Media Relations Student Assistant
TEMPE, Ariz. ? Led by a 22-point outing from senior guard Gerry Blakes, the Arizona State men’s basketball team defeated Belmont 83-74 to open the regional round of the Legends Classic, earning first-year head coach Bobby Hurley his?first victory at the helm. Four Sun Devils scored in double-figures, including the aforementioned Blakes who also finished with eight rebounds, Andre Spight who added 15 knocking down 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc, Savon Goodman who recorded his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Kodi Justice with 13.
GERRY BLAKES CAREER 20-POINT GAMES (6)
24 at Washington State (2/13/15)
23 at Washington (2/15/15)
23 vs. Colgate (11/29/14)
22 vs.Belmont (11/16/15)
21 vs. Alabama @Kansas City (11/25/14)
20 at Marquette (12/16/14)
SAVON GOODMAN CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES
13/12 vs.Belmont (11/16/15)
14/17 at Richmond (3/22/15)
20/12 vs. UCLA (2/18/15)
19/13 at Washington (2/15/15)
22/11 vs. Detroit (12/23/14)
24/12 vs. Lehigh (12/20/14)
SAVON GOODMAN TOP REBOUNDING GAMES
17 at Richmond (3/22/15)
14 at Washington State (2/13/15)
13 vs. Belmont (11/16/15)
13 at Washington (2/15/15)
13 vs. LaVerne (12/13/12 at UNLV)
“It’s a great feeling to get our season started and to generate a win and we did so against a very good basketball team that has tournament experience.”, said head coach Bobby Hurley. “Obviously with them (Belmont) knocking off Marquette on Friday night, they are a legitimate NCAA tournament team so to do what we did tonight it’s a great feeling to get back on track and just feel better on the direction of our team.”
The Sun Devils won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Bruins 45-to-31, finishing the contest with 15 second chance points. Goodman as noted earlier recorded a game-high 12 boards, while Blakes and Forward Eric Jacobsen each added eight respectively. Arizona State capitalized on 14 Bruin’s turnovers, scoring 25 as a result.
The Sun Devils were slow out of the gate, shooting just 37.9 percent (11-29) from the field and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc (4-13) in the first period. Blakes led the team in scoring during the period with nine. In a half of basketball that saw eight lead changes, the Sun Devils managed to enter halftime ahead 36-32, despite a 6-0 run by the Bruins to end the period.
Belmont opened the second half on a 9-2 run, moving ahead 44-40 with 16:47 to play. The Sun Devils responded with a run of their own, outscoring the Bruins 17-7 over a stretch of six minutes beginning out the 16:47 mark, by virtue of three-consecutive corner threes from Spight and an emphatic dunk by Goodman. After taking a 49-48 lead at the 14:03 mark, the Sun Devils never relented remaining ahead for the remainder of the contest. After a pair of free throws by Belmont’s Evan Bradds trimmed Arizona State’s lead to just 69-68 with 3:27 remaining, the Sun Devils closed on a 14-6 run, capped by a cross-court pass from Justice to Blakes who slammed home a one-handed dunk.
Up next, the Sun Devils host Kennesaw State in the second regional round game of the Legends Classic, Wed. Nov. 18, at 6:30 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
Former national coach of the year and two-time Big East Coach of the Year Al Skinner leads an Owls team in his first-year at the helm, who posted a 10-22 record in 2014-15. The Owls have returned three starters for the season. ?
HURLEY QUOTES:
On practice Saturday and Gerry Blakes saying it was very hard...
"I would assume that (Gerry) might be referring more to the film session we had that lasted a very long time, just dissecting Friday night’s game. I think that the guys learned a lot from that and then our practice really didn’t consist of many shot attempts, there was a lot of running and it was physically demanding. We’re also working on things that went wrong and try to correct mistakes at the same time."
?On Holder struggling, Kodi stepping up
"(Holder) like a number of our guys, were in foul trouble in the first half. I think that that is a part of what everyone is going to have to adjust to that’s a little bit different than years past and how the games are going to be called closer. So we have to adjust to that so I think Tra with the fouls didn’t get in a great rhythm but Cody made some big shots and he and Jerry handled running the team for stretches tonight. So, it was good that they were ready to step up. We believe in Cody playing minutes like he played tonight. He brings a lot to the table offensively for us."
?On fouls
"It just becomes hard to manage just having the type of rotation you like. It interferes with just having the right mix of guys on the floor sometimes. Then it’s frustrating for players who you want to be playing more minutes. In my history I have played guys with two fouls and I’m not always afraid to do that in some instances and we did get (Goodman) and Tra a few minutes without them picking up their third foul, but unfortunately (Atwood) did late in the half."
?On Andre Spight
"Andre is a really good player that can score, that can shoot. We talked to him more about just, like you got to have a short memory and if you miss a few shots you got to put it behind you and that’s what great shooters and scorers do. You got to trust your skills because he is a very talented guy. I think he’s going to make a lot of shots here at Wells Fargo. I didn’t put a lot into the way he shot on Friday night so I would expect him to be more like he was tonight in the long term."
On defending Bradshaw:
"Jerry did a great job on Bradshaw individually. He loves guarding people and the challenge. He saw the film and Bradshaw is a tough kid who believes in himself and he puts points on the board, leading scorer in his conference so Jerry wanted a piece of him and he did a great job guarding him for us and also eight rebounds defensively which is huge for us. We talked about our perimeter guys rebounding and he did that. So I thought that was a big part of our game- how we rebounded the basketball."
?Why rebounding worked this game
"We talked about it a lot more, just the urgency. We knew that we couldn’t afford to give them multiple possessions because we don’t block out and rebound. We have to finish out the possession with a rebound. We knew they would shoot a lot of threes. We talked to our guards about getting the longer rebounds. Jerry did a great job with that."?
?On turnovers, securing the ball better
"It was a weird game for that. If you would have told me that would’ve been our number I wouldn’t have expected that, that’s why this game is so interesting I guess.? Their defense doesn’t really or didn’t in its history force turnovers so I’m going to have to look at the tape and see where they all came from. I know a number of them were charging calls and things like that so we definitely have to better at that. But it’s early in the season, these guys again, are learning a whole new system so I just kind of want to be patient with our offense I think it will develop as we go on."
?On his first win with the program
"I just feel like I have won a number of games before, I don’t feel like this is the first time but certainly here it’s special with this group. Even for our season, more so than me personally, it’s just, for these guys to work they way they’ve worked. To have to live 48 hours with the results from Friday night, and to be able to respond and beat a good team here. I’m proud of the group for doing that and just looking forward to our next chance on Wednesday."
?On faster tempo
"We always want to play quicker. The guys are in great shape; they are well conditioned. I though our conditioning paid dividends for us late in the game, especially rebounding. We were quicker to the ball in the second half. Especially Savon was outstanding going to the glass for us and the way he played in the second half. So that played a part in it."
GERRY BLAKES AND ANDRE SPIGHT QUOTES:
On coming back from a tough loss...
Blakes: "It was big for us. It was a must-win. We knew that Belmont was a great team, that they were a tournament team. We heard through the grapevine that they were expected to win so that gave us the extra boost to not lose a second game in a row on our home court." Spight: "They came out and they played really well. We knew they were a great team. They played really good defense at some times, but we got on the glass and won the rebounds that game so I think that's what helped us down the stretch." On the two days after the loss to Sacramento State... Blakes: "The first day after the loss after Sacramento State was probably one of the toughest practices I've had as a basketball player. But I feel like that's what great teams do. It definitely prepared us to get ready and respond tonight like we did so it definitely worked out." On his three-point shooting... Spight: "My teammates just found me in the corner. The left corner, that's where I like to spot up at. They weren't falling against Sacramento State. But I got in the gym last night and I definitely knew they were going to fall tonight. My teammates found me and they trusted me." On Kodi Justice's help on the court... Blakes: "I feel like the depth on our team is great. The guys can come in and fill in different spots at different times. Tra Holder didn't have his best game but he stuck with it. Kodi came and filled that spot pretty well and hit some big shots down the stretch. All-in-all I feel like we played great team basketball, great team defense. Getting this win was like the biggest thing. It was like do or die, so we had to do whatever it took to get it." On developing a good team rhythm... Blakes: "With a new team and a new coach, everyone has to get acclimated. The games are much different than practices so of course we had a little jitters and a little nervousness. But we ended up getting out of it. Even in the first game that we lost, we were close, so that was a good sign. We ended up tightening up the screws and coming out and being the team we want to be tonight." ? On opposing Bruins' Craig Bradshaw... Spight: "We just ran him off the three-point line. Gerry did a good job guarding him all game, getting into him, making him put the ball on the ground, which he doesn't want to do. So I think Gerry did a really good job shutting him down tonight." Blakes:"I think his swagger kind of irked me a little bit, so I took the initiative to try to turn it down a little bit. I really took that personally on my birthday. I feel like I should have the most swag for the day (smiling). But, on a serious note, I just felt like I have to play great defense. He's a great player, so I respected him. I just gave him all I had tonight." On getting Coach Hurley's first win at ASU... Blakes: "That was big. They had a ceremony in our locker room and give him a basketball as appreciation for him. It's the first of many, so we're excited to get this season rolling." On shooting with more accuracy... Spight: "It seemed like nothing would fall for me last game. It felt really good after my first shot went in. The rim kind of opened up for me. Then the whole game opened up for me and I was able to find my teammates. I was just able to look for my teammates in good situations and make the most of it." On the difference between the Belmont and Sacramento State games... Spight: "We just wanted it [Belmont] more. We had more energy on the glass, more toughness." Blakes: "I think it was our effort to want to do it, like he said. It was either do what we had to do to win or go through what we went through the last game. We definitely didn't want to do that. So we buckled down and did whatever it took." ? On the first practice after the Sacramento State game... Blakes: "[There was] punishment. He was a perfectionist at that moment. Anything that we did wrong whether it was dribble with our left hand when we were supposed to dribble with our right hand, we were on the line. If you were to do anything that you weren't supposed to do, like drop the ball on a catch, we would run. Those things just make you alert to want to do the right thing all the time. I think the great teams and the good teams and the tournament teams do that. Being that that's our goal and aspiration, we stepped to it and got after it." On tonight's free throws... Blakes: "I can't really talk about my free throws, I'm sorry. I need to shoot some more at practice." Spight: "We definitely put extra emphasis on that. We buckled down at practice. After every practice we shoot free throws, so we just tried to stay solid the last couple of days while we were shooting the free throws and just really buckle down and lock in."?
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