by Shaylee Souza, SDA Communications Intern
In their first action of the 2017-18 season @SunDevilHoops defeated Northern State University 98-90 on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena in double overtime, the first of three exhibition games for the Sun Devils before opening the season Nov. 10 against Idaho State.
The Wolves, picked to win the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in the Preseason Coaches' Poll, return returns four starters from their 22-8 season last year.
"It was a less than inspiring start...just thankful that it's October and we have a few weeks to work on things. We didn't play well we it was just a lot of breakdowns and too much one-on-one basketball," said Coach Bobby Hurley. "To their credit -- I watched film -- they won 22 games last year and just about their entire team came back. Their bigs are good at the five spot and score and could pass. They moved ball very well, they moved without the ball. I knew there would be a challenge playing them."
Holder ended the night with 20 points while fellow senior Shannon Evans II put up 24.
"I wasn't even particularly surprised by the score at half time. I think where the team started losing me was just some of the decision making as the second half wore on and into the overtime. How we did push the margin out yet stopped defending. Then we also had some shots selection problems from guys that I don't typically expect to have that issue."
Shining in the victory were the newest members of the squad, freshmen Kimani Lawrence and Remy Martin, who contributed 15 and 11 points in their first collegiate action.
"I think it's good because it wasn't like some other games in the past that we played in exhibition. This was a legitimate opponent that had a good plan. So I think we'll get a lot out of this and so we'll get back to work and try and move forward from it. I did see some positives from Kimani and Remy and we did take six charges."
The game was a back-and-forth affair, but following overcoming their early deficit, the Devils rarely played from behind in the remaining minutes of play.
The pressure was on with less than a minute left in the matchup, as the Wolves used a three-pointer to tie the game up at 76-76, sending the game into overtime.
Junior De'Quon Lake broke open the scoring in extra time, bursting through the defense for a dunk. The Wolves kept the game close, but a jump ball in ASU's favor proved to be crucial in sending the game into its first over time. With just six seconds left and down by three, enter redshirt freshman Vitaliy Shibel.
Shibel stepped up behind the arc and nailed a three-pointer, to send the game into a double overtime.
A three-pointer with less than 30 seconds left by Holder sealed the victory for the Devils.
In their first action of the 2017-18 season @SunDevilHoops defeated Northern State University 98-90 on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena in double overtime, the first of three exhibition games for the Sun Devils before opening the season Nov. 10 against Idaho State.
The Wolves, picked to win the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in the Preseason Coaches' Poll, return returns four starters from their 22-8 season last year.
"It was a less than inspiring start...just thankful that it's October and we have a few weeks to work on things. We didn't play well we it was just a lot of breakdowns and too much one-on-one basketball," said Coach Bobby Hurley. "To their credit -- I watched film -- they won 22 games last year and just about their entire team came back. Their bigs are good at the five spot and score and could pass. They moved ball very well, they moved without the ball. I knew there would be a challenge playing them."
Handing the Wolves just their second loss in their last 16 road games, the Devils played the first five minutes of the match from a deficit. Senior Tra Holder hit a shot from behind the arc to knot the game up at 11 after ASU fell behind early.DEVILS WIN, DEVILS WIN!
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) October 27, 2017
Tra seals the deal with five straight points as the #Devils top Northern State! pic.twitter.com/z0mkNesL2J
Holder ended the night with 20 points while fellow senior Shannon Evans II put up 24.
"I wasn't even particularly surprised by the score at half time. I think where the team started losing me was just some of the decision making as the second half wore on and into the overtime. How we did push the margin out yet stopped defending. Then we also had some shots selection problems from guys that I don't typically expect to have that issue."
Shining in the victory were the newest members of the squad, freshmen Kimani Lawrence and Remy Martin, who contributed 15 and 11 points in their first collegiate action.
"I think it's good because it wasn't like some other games in the past that we played in exhibition. This was a legitimate opponent that had a good plan. So I think we'll get a lot out of this and so we'll get back to work and try and move forward from it. I did see some positives from Kimani and Remy and we did take six charges."
The game was a back-and-forth affair, but following overcoming their early deficit, the Devils rarely played from behind in the remaining minutes of play.
The pressure was on with less than a minute left in the matchup, as the Wolves used a three-pointer to tie the game up at 76-76, sending the game into overtime.
Junior De'Quon Lake broke open the scoring in extra time, bursting through the defense for a dunk. The Wolves kept the game close, but a jump ball in ASU's favor proved to be crucial in sending the game into its first over time. With just six seconds left and down by three, enter redshirt freshman Vitaliy Shibel.
Shibel stepped up behind the arc and nailed a three-pointer, to send the game into a double overtime.
A three-pointer with less than 30 seconds left by Holder sealed the victory for the Devils.