Behind Tra Holder's career day, @SunDevilHoops improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2013-14 after defeating the UC Irvine Anteaters 99-78 Sunday afternoon at Ned Wulk Court. Supported by .612 shooting (30-of-49) shooting, ASU took the lead just two minutes into the game and never gave it back.
The Sun Devil offense caught fire early once again, going on a 20-2 run in just under six minutes to lead 22-9 with 12:27 left in the first half. Defense set the tone from tip, as the Sun Devils scored 26 points off 19 Anteater (2-3) turnovers with 15 coming on the fast break.
The Sun Devils added more history to their books, scoring 90 points in four straight games for the first time since the Lionel Hollins was dropping buckets from Feb. 28- March 15, 1975.
"I like the buy-in from the players to share the ball, move the ball, change sides of the floor with the basketball with the pass or the drive..making teams work in the half court. When we rebound and then push and score early, we do have that ability," said head coach Bobby Hurley. "We have guys that can get lost in transition and make a three. When it was like 11 or 12, we really pushed it out to twenty fast because we got some stops and our defense played better in that stretch. It's important for us to defend and rebound. We gave up 15 offensive rebounds so that was a bit of a problem. They did the same thing against Kansas State early in that game so we knew they were a really good offensive rebounding team."
Senior guard Tra Holder scored a career-high 32 points on 13-of-15 shooting. Tra Holder drilled six triples, including one as time expired to send Arizona State with a 66-55 halftime lead.DEVILS WIN, DEVILS WIN!!! ??????
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 19, 2017
It was the #TwitterlessTra Show today in Tempe, as the senior guard set a new career-high in scoring (35 points). @hollywood_XI, @kodijustice44 and @mellosworld_23 also scored in double-figures ?? pic.twitter.com/5yikBmAE04
.@SunDevilHoops Tra Holder had a career high 3??5?? points today! ?? pic.twitter.com/2TdJm9EIzu
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) November 19, 2017
Holder added five assists and two rebounds in the senior's breakout game that puts him at No. 18 on the all-time Sun Devil career points list as he posted his first-career 30-point game and was his most points in a contest since Jan. 29, 2017 against Washington State where he scored 27 points.
"Tra looks very relaxed when he's shooting the deep shot. He's taking good ones and not taking poor distance shots," said Coach Hurley. "It's something he has worked on. All the credit to what he's done in the offseason. I thought he still, as good as he was on offense, was pressuring the ball and doing the things he needed to do on the other end as well."
There goes that man #TwitterlessTra ?? pic.twitter.com/kRteHrPhyZ
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 19, 2017
MOST ASU POINTS UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
35- Tra Holder vs. UC Irvine (11/19/17)
32-Torain Graham vs. #5 Oregon/Pac-12 Tournament (3/9/17)
30-Torian Graham at Stanford (12/30/16)
29-Torian Graham at Washington (2/16/17)
28-Torian Graham vs.#5 UCLA (2/23/17)
28-Shannon Evans II at #13 Oregon (2/2/17)
28-Shannon Evans II vs UNLV (12/3/16)
The three-point shooting was key to the halftime lead as the Sun Devils shot 10-of-13 behind the arch in the first 20 minutes. Senior Kodi Justice had eight points at the half and 18 for the game. With three three-pointers made against UC Irvine, Justice is tired for tenth place on the all-time Sun Devil career three-pointers list.
SUN DEVIL CAREER THREE-POINTERS
1. 323, Stevin Smith (1990-94)
8. 181, Kevin Kruger (2003-06)
9. 156, Tarence Wheeler (1987-91)
10. 149, Derek Glasser (2006-10)
T-10. 149, Kodi Justice (2014-18)
Shannon Evans II tallied a team high in assists (seven) while scoring 22 points in 35 minutes. The Anteaters brought the game within 11 at the 8:01 mark, but free-throws and threes from Holder and Justice captured their largest lead of the day when they went up 22 points with 2:51 remaining in the second-half.
The Sun Devils attacked the basket Sunday's win, drawing 28 fouls resulting in 25 points from the charity stripe. Freshman Romello White was effective on the boards against UC Irvine, notching his second-career double-double. White scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Sun Devils suit up next against Kansas State in the first game of the Continental Tire Invitational on Thursday, Nov. 23 in Las Vegas, Nev. The game can be seen on FS1 and heard on AZ Sports 98.7 FM at 4:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. MT.
POSTGAME NOTES
THAT FIRST HALF: ASU made 18-of-28 (.692) from the floor in the first half vs. UC Irvine on Nov. 19 and posted 56 points, the most points in the first half since it scored 58 vs. San Francisco on Nov. 20, 2009.
MOST FIRST HALF POINTS SINCE 1996-97
61 vs. La Salle (Dec. 27, 1997)
58 vs. San Francisco (Nov. 20, 2009)
58 vs. USC (Feb. 13, 2003)
58 vs. Prairie View A&M (Dec. 1, 2001)
57 vs. Houston Baptist (Dec. 10, 1996)
56 vs. UC Irvine (Nov. 19, 2017)
56 vs. Chaminade (Nov. 26, 2002)
56 at American-Puerto Rico (Nov. 26, 1999)
56 vs. Delaware State (Dec. 1, 1997)
ABOUT UC IRVINE: Russell Turner has guided the UCI program for the past seven years and has led the Anteaters to the postseason and at least 20 wins in each of the past five seasons, including the NIT in 2017. His UCI teams have won 114 games during that five-year span for an average of 22.8 wins per season. He was named 2017 Big West Conference Coach of the Year after leading UCI to the league's regular-season title for the third time in the last four years. Turner's Anteater teams have won 60 Big West regular-season games over the past five years, including a 21-15 mark last year. UC Irvine is picked to win the Big West title this year
ASU-UC IRVINE SERIES (ASU LEADS 4-0)
ASU 99, UC Irvine 78 (Nov. 19, 2017)
ASU 74, UC Irvine 61 (Dec. 28, 2013)
#13 ASU 87, UC Irvine 58 (Dec. 17, 1994)
ASU 88, UC Irvine 73 (Dec. 28, 1981 at Milwaukee)
HEAD COACH BOBBY HURLEY QUOTES
"Right after the game, I went to go touch Tra's [Holder] hand since I was thinking about putting up some shots later on my own at the gym and I want to make them so I figured I'd go shake his hand and maybe that'll carry over. It was a good game. I think UC Irvine is going to be a good team in their own league and do very well. They played very hard and they're well-coached. They have a good inside game and made shots. It was a good test for us. Loved the way we played offense today. Both getting in the lane and scoring and I touched on how good Tra was. Everyone could see that. It was one of the better performances that I have seen from a player that I have coached in my young coaching career."
On Tra's development with his shot.
"The distance shot was one of those things that he could make as a sophomore and even last year. His percentages are much better. He looks very relaxed when he's shooting the deep shot. He's taking good ones and not taking poor distance shots. It's something he worked on. All the credit to what he's done in the offseason. I thought he still, as good as he was on offense, pressuring the ball and doing the things he needed to do on the other end as well."
On putting up 90 points in the first four games of the season.
"I just think the buy-in from the players to share the ball, move the ball, change sides of the floor with the basketball with the pass or the drive. Making teams work in the half court. When we rebound and then push and score early, we do have that ability. We have guys that can get lost in transition and make a three. When it was like 11 or 12, we really pushed it out to twenty fast because we got some stops and our defense played better in that stretch. It's important for us to defend and rebound. We gave up 15 offensive rebounds so that was a bit of a problem. They did the same thing against Kansas State early in that game so we knew they were a really good offensive rebounding team."
On Tra's leadership
"He's just got a very focused determined way about him. Occasionally, he'll let you know how good he's feeling with his emotion. He's kind of very stoic and it's hard to read him. He's just got that poker face out there on the floor. Guys respect how good he is. He had the scoring going on tonight, but really through all the games, he's done the rebounding and he's passed well. He's had a tremendous start to the season."