By Cal Aboud, SDA Media Relations Student Assistant
TEMPE, Ariz. ? The Arizona State men’s basketball team (2-1) cruised to a 91-53 victory over Kennesaw State to close the regional round of the Legends Basketball Classic Wednesday night.
The Sun Devils shot an efficient 52.4 percent (33-of-63) from the field, with four players contributing double-figure scoring including forward Obinna Oleka (19-point outing off the bench), Eric Jacobsen (third career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds), Tra Holder (14 points) and Willie Atwood who posted 10 points along with eight rebounds.
"It's hard not to feel good about ourselves tonight." said head coach Bobby Hurley. "We came out the right way. I think we started well. We had a little stretch towards the end of the first half where we weren't at our best and maybe had chances to put them away a little sooner. I liked how we came out of the gates to start the second half. We got on a run and obviously extended the lead. So it was a good all-around game from a lot of guys and a lot of balance out there. In particular, I was happy for Obi Oleka. He struggled his first two games as a junior college guy that hasn't played in two years, and he showed some things out there. I'm happy for him that he played well. We'll just move on and obviously get ready for hopefully a fun week next week in Brooklyn."
Outrebounding the Owls 53-24, the Sun Devils managed 20 second-chance points. SGerry Blakes recorded a career-high 12 rebounds, three more than his previous high of nine posted on Dec. 12, 2014 against UNLV.
The +29 rebounding margin was the biggest by a Sun Devil team since it outboarded Cal Poly by 29 (52-23) on Nov. 26, 2007.
The Sun Devils who limited Kennesaw State to just 32.8 percent (20-61) from the field, never trailed.Opening the first half on an 8-0 run, ASU managed to maintain a double-digit lead for a better part of the period. Holder led all scorers in the half with 10, while Jacobsen added seven. Jacobsen who accumulated 10 boards on the night, recorded four rebounds in just four minutes of play to open the contest. For the period the Sun Devils finished at 48 percent (14-29) from the field and 75 percent (6-8) from the line. ?Despite 11 team turnovers Arizona State entered the half ahead 35-24.
ERIC JACOBSEN’S CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES (3)
15/10 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
16/12 vs. UNLV (12/3/14)
13/10 vs. Bethune-Cookman (11/17/14)
ERIC JACOBSEN TOP SCORING GAMES
20 vs. Pepperdine (12/13/14)
16 vs. UNLV (12/3/14)
16 vs. Hartford (12/5/12)
15 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
The momentum of the first half carried over to the second, as the Sun Devils outscored Kennesaw State 56-29 in the final period. Oleka who was limited to just six points in the first half, was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field scoring 13 in the half. Shooting 55.9 percent (19-34), 41.7 percent (5-12) from beyond the arc, and 68.4 percent (13-19) from the charity stripe, Arizona State closed the contest ahead by a 38-point margin.
Up next, the Sun Devils will play NC State Nov. 23, at 7:00 p.m. MT, in the first of two slated matchups at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The game will be available via ESPN 3, and can be heard on?ESPN Phoenix 620 AM.??
The Wolfpack checked in at 22-14 for the 2014-15 season notching impressive victories against the eventual National Champion Duke Blue Devils and Louisville. The program made its fourth-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, amounting a run to the Sweet 16 before falling to Louisville. The Wolfpack are set to return four starters in 2015-16.
COACH HURLEY QUOTES...
On Turnover Improvements from 1st half to 2nd half
"We've been getting nailed with the illegal screens. That was a few of the turnovers. I'm not thrilled with that number (11 TO's in 1st Half) and obviously we talked about that at halftime. One of our game keys today was a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. We didn't meet that goal, but we had 0 in the 2nd half, which is a really good number."
On Tra Holder's play
"He was aggressive and he got into the lane and created some plays for himself. He was again shifty with the ball in there and got us going offensively which was good to see."
On Savon Goodman's injury situation
"I think Savon was just a little more nervous just with that being the foot that he had injured in practice, but they're not related. It's a minor thing or appears to be at this point with his ankle. He actually asked me to go back into the game once he was cleared. That's usually a pretty good sign that he will get through this pretty easy."
On taking care of business vs non-conference opponents
"I thought I would've liked to see us convert a little better in the paint in the 1st half. I think we had more opportunity to extend on them and I think that will continue to get better. I just liked the aggression and the physicality we're rebounding the ball with and our defense was pretty solid to hold them to (32.0% FG) and also a very low percentage from three-point range. Those are all good things that we need to bring every time we step out on the floor."
On Andre Spight's struggles
"He's young in his career here and Andre is going to be fine. Basketball delivers you different things. Your shot doesn't always fall. You need to find a way to do other things. He brings value to the game whether his shot is going in or not, because people know he can shoot it. He's a threat and defenses need to honor him. I liked how confident he came out in the 2nd half and looked for his shot early on."
On balanced scoring with 4 players in double figures minus Blakes
"I think that's what I've been feeling since day one with the group. We have numerous guys that have the potential to score in double figures and different options based on our opponent and how they're guarding us. In the 2nd half, Gerry made some really good passes, as well as Kodi. They did a nice job of doing that and Gerry had 9 rebounds at halftime from the guard spot which is terrific. He had a really good all-around game, even though he didn't score a lot of points."
On Gerry Blakes
"Gerry's an elite athlete and he's strong and he's got the right mindset. He wants that matchup, the best guy he wants a piece of him. I like that about him. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and he wants the assignment. He's gotten the best scorer for each of the last two games and he's done a really good job. He held that kid today, for the minutes he was in to (4-17 FG). He did a good job on a player that had 35 against Alabama two games ago."
On feeling good about where the team stands through 3 games
"You just hope that you bring the confidence that you're able to get out of this and bring it to the floor on Monday. We need to have several good practices again to continue to fine tune our execution and there's less margin for not playing well. When you step up in competition like we will next week, we just can't afford to play even the 6-8 minutes that we played in the 1st half today. Not playing at the level that is necessary with these types of opponents coming in."
On Obinna Oleka's learning curve
"I think with Obi it was like he was trying to remember what we're doing on offense and where he needs to be on the floor. It's a whole new system on how to play defense and where he needs to be. He was thinking a lot and not reacting as much. I just got a sense yesterday with how he practiced and us talking about the first two games. My message to him was in two weeks, you're not going to remember this week. Let's put it behind us what happened on Friday, what happened on Monday, and you're too talented of a guy not to have a chance to be real productive. I'm glad he will hopefully get some confidence out of it. When you're not playing well in a variety of ways and the last game just happened to be his foul issues that got in the way. It's like you wonder if it's going to turn for you and you could see that he was struggling a little bit with his confidence. He's a gifted kid and we believe in his talent. He showed some of his skills today and I think they translate down the line for him to continue to play well."
On playing on the road in upcoming Legends Classic at Brooklyn
"It's a fun challenge. These are the games you want to be a part of. You want to go to Brooklyn and play in the Barclays Center and have NC State there. It's an opportunity for us early in the season to play for a championship. We're in the Legends Classic and we have to approach it that way. Obviously there's some really good opponents there and should be a good atmosphere. We're excited about it."
PLAYER QUOTES:
On career high rebounds
Blakes-"I don't know man, just getting after it- I had to do something so I feel like going to the glass was big for me. I think as guards we have to do that to help our team so I took initiative to do that."
On dominating Kennesaw
Blakes-"I think for us this is more of a statement game. We're coming off a big win versus Belmont. We had to figure out what we were going to do to continue this season- whether we were going to come out and dominate these guys or keep them in the game. Coach emphasized on not keeping in them in the game and trying to put our foot on the pedal and we are trying to get ready for Brooklyn."
On Tra's comfort on the floor
Holder-"Coach really tries to instill confidence in all of us so I just try to come out quick and push the tempo. I think I need to do that more and it really opened up the floor for the rest of the guys so I want to continue to do that."
On offensive balance
Blakes: "We have great players so I feel like it's a good job for me to trying to get everyone involved or try to be like (Holder) and try to get some assists. I think the game comes around so you don't have to pressure yourself to score. I was 0 for two in the first half but I didn't really panic, it was a long game so I just stuck with it and I guess everything worked itself out."
On turnovers in the first half- none in the second
Holder: "I think it's the stretch. I think we started out strong but then in the stretch we start playing lackadaisical.? Coach really emphasized at halftime that we need to come out aggressive and take care of the ball- just make the simple play- and I think we did that that's why we got no turnovers."
TRA HOLDER TOP SCORING GAMES
17 vs. Sacramento State (11/13/15)
16 vs. Oregon (1/30/15)
15 vs. Stanford (3/5/15)
15 vs. #6 Arizona (2/7/15)
15 vs. Pepperdine (12/13/14)
14 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
14 at Colorado (3/1/15)
14 at Washington State (2/13/15)
14 at Texas A&M (12/6/14)
?
ERIC JACOBSEN’S CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES (3)
15/10 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
16/12 vs. UNLV (12/3/14)
13/10 vs. Bethune-Cookman (11/17/14)
?
ERIC JACOBSEN TOP SCORING GAMES
20 vs. Pepperdine (12/13/14)
16 vs. UNLV (12/3/14)
16 vs. Hartford (12/5/12)
15 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
14 vs. Maryland (11/24/14)
13 at Oregon (1/10/15)
13 vs. Alabama (11/25/14)
13 vs. Bethune-Cookman (11/17/14)
?
ERIC JACOBSEN DOUBLE-DIGIT REBOUNDS
12 vs. UNLV (12/3/14)
11 vs. LMU (11/20/14)
10 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
10 vs. USC (2/22/15)
10 at Marquette (12/16/14)
10 vs. Bethune-Cookman (11/17/14
?
SAVON GOODMAN CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES
12/13 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 SCORING GAMES
24 vs. Lehigh (12/20/14)
22 vs. Detroit (12/23/14)
20 vs. UCLA (2/18/15)
19 at Washington (2/15/15)
18 vs. California (3/7/15)
18 at Stanford (1/24/15)
15 vs. #6 Arizona (2/7/15)
14 at Richmond (3/22/15)
14 at UCONN (3/18/15)
13 vs. (11/16/15)
13 vs. Hawaii (12/1/12)
13 vs. LaVerne (12/13/12)
11 vs. Northern Arizona (11/11/12)
10 vs. USC (3/11/15 @Pac-12 Tournament)
?
?
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)
12 vs. UCLA (2/18/15)
12 vs. Lehigh (12/20/14)
11 vs. Detroit (12/23/14)
?
TRA HOLDER TOP SCORING GAMES
17 vs. Sacramento State (11/13/15)
16 vs. Oregon (1/30/15)
15 vs. Stanford (3/5/15)
15 vs. #6 Arizona (2/7/15)
15 vs. Pepperdine (12/13/14)
14 vs. Kennesaw State (11/18/15)
14 at Colorado (3/1/15)
14 at Washington State (2/13/15)
14 at Texas A&M (12/6/14)
13 vs. UCLA (2/18/15)
11 vs. Colgate (11/29/14)
10 at Richmond (3/22/15)
10 vs. USC (2/22/15
10 vs. Oregon State (1/28/15)
10 vs. Colorado (1/17/15)