The identity of the Arizona State men's basketball is quite different than the shooting seniors from last year's tournament team. This group prides themselves on tenacious defense and aggressive play on the glass.
"I thought it was probably the best defensive performance I've had here as a coach," said coach Bobby Hurley.
The defense was indeed at its best, solidifying a 90-58 victory over Long Beach State. The 49ers (1-1) made just six baskets in the opening 20 minutes and was held to 27.4 percent shooting for the contest, Sparky's best effort since it held Oregon State to .246 (14-57) on Feb. 11, 2010.
ASU's 63 rebounds against LBSU is tied for most by a Sun Devil team since 1996-67. It also had 63 on Nov. 27, 2002 against Utah in OT.
"I loved it, I loved it," said Remy Martin. "Coming into this game, defense is a part of my game and I just try to bring the energy and talk to my guys about how important defense is, which they know."
And the early offensive struggles that defined ASU (3-0) through the first two games? That was squashed from tip as the Sun Devils opened 5-for-6 from the field and went on a 8-0 run that featured triples from Martin and Kimani Lawrence.
"I know that we're capable of scoring," said Hurley. "I've been hoping that we could get to the point where we could play defense like this."
The Devils had the 38-16 advantage at half, all the cushion they needed Monday night. Long Beach State cut the ASU lead to 15 with just over 12 minutes to play, but the home team followed suit of their early season trend of attacking the basket.
"Romello (White) and De'Quon (Lake) combination is playing very efficiently right now… it's a measure for success," said Hurley. The duo combined for 22 points and 15 rebounds with Lake a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.
Zylan Cheatham was outstanding again, getting it done all over the boxscore. The Phoenix native shot 4-for-7 from the field with 12 points, 9 rebounds and a pair of blocks and steals.
In all three games this season, the Sun Devils have had at least five players in double figures. Martin paced ASU with 15 points, still recovering from an ankle sprain suffered on Oct. 10.
"He is doing great and getting close to back to where we want him at and we need him," said Hurley. "It's good to see him moving better. He's a great leader, great competitor to even play those first couple games when he wasn't 100 percent."
Luguentz Dort is an engine that never stops running. Tonight, he struggled offensively but never lost his identity. The freshman tallied 12 points and 12 rebounds in 31 minutes.
"That man is a great player," said Martin. "Playing against him in practice… its what we live for. This is how we play basketball."
Arizona State shot 44.6 percent from the field as a team, but coach Hurley believes many missed layups and open court situations would have made the stats look considerably better. There were multiple instances when it seemed like the ball touched every part of the rim but never found its way though.
The Sun Devils look to continue their 16 straight regular season out of conference win streak on Friday, Nov. 16 against San Francisco. Tip-off from San Francisco, CA is slated for 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT and can be viewed on Pac-12 Networks and heard on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
SUN DEVIL OPPONENT FEWEST HALFTIME POINTS (SINCE 1989-90)
ASU 42, Delaware State 12 (Dec. 12, 2009)
ASU 20, Colgate 12 (Dec. 19, 2006)
ASU 36, Old Dominion 12 (Jan. 7, 1995)
ASU 34, @California 13 (Jan. 22, 2015)
ASU 19, @Oregon State 13 (Feb. 7, 2009)
ASU 33, Oregon State 13 (Feb. 25, 1995)
ASU 33, Bethune-Cookman 14 (Nov. 17, 2014)
ASU 24, @Stanford 14 (Jan. 27, 1991)
ASU 39, Western Illinois 15 (Nov. 13, 2009)
ASU 30, Oregon State 15 (Jan. 8, 2009)
ASU 38, Long Beach State 16 (Nov. 12, 2018)
"I thought it was probably the best defensive performance I've had here as a coach," said coach Bobby Hurley.
The defense was indeed at its best, solidifying a 90-58 victory over Long Beach State. The 49ers (1-1) made just six baskets in the opening 20 minutes and was held to 27.4 percent shooting for the contest, Sparky's best effort since it held Oregon State to .246 (14-57) on Feb. 11, 2010.
ASU's 63 rebounds against LBSU is tied for most by a Sun Devil team since 1996-67. It also had 63 on Nov. 27, 2002 against Utah in OT.
MOOD%20pic.twitter.com/LreFc8xY8v
—%20Sun%20Devil%20MBB%20(@SunDevilHoops)%20November%2013,%202018%20">Tweet #%20">Tweet #MOOD pic.twitter.com/LreFc8xY8vTweet #MOOD pic.twitter.com/LreFc8xY8vTweet #MOOD pic.twitter.com/LreFc8xY8vTweet #MOOD pic.twitter.com/LreFc8xY8vTweet #MOOD pic.twitter.com/LreFc8xY8vTweet #MOOD pic.twitter.com/LreFc8xY8vTweet #MOOD pic.twitter.com/LreFc8xY8vTweet #MOOD pic.twitter.com/LreFc8xY8v — Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) Tweet #November 13, 2018MOOD%20pic.twitter.com/LreFc8xY8v
—%20Sun%20Devil%20MBB%20(@SunDevilHoops)%20November%2013,%202018
"I loved it, I loved it," said Remy Martin. "Coming into this game, defense is a part of my game and I just try to bring the energy and talk to my guys about how important defense is, which they know."
And the early offensive struggles that defined ASU (3-0) through the first two games? That was squashed from tip as the Sun Devils opened 5-for-6 from the field and went on a 8-0 run that featured triples from Martin and Kimani Lawrence.
"I know that we're capable of scoring," said Hurley. "I've been hoping that we could get to the point where we could play defense like this."
The Devils had the 38-16 advantage at half, all the cushion they needed Monday night. Long Beach State cut the ASU lead to 15 with just over 12 minutes to play, but the home team followed suit of their early season trend of attacking the basket.
"Romello (White) and De'Quon (Lake) combination is playing very efficiently right now… it's a measure for success," said Hurley. The duo combined for 22 points and 15 rebounds with Lake a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.
Zylan Cheatham was outstanding again, getting it done all over the boxscore. The Phoenix native shot 4-for-7 from the field with 12 points, 9 rebounds and a pair of blocks and steals.
We%20??%20you%20Zylan!@1KingZ4%20putting%20in%20work%20with%2012%20pts,%208%20rebs,%202%20blocks,%20and%202%20steals.%20pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNd
—%20Sun%20Devil%20MBB%20(@SunDevilHoops)%20November%2013,%202018%20">Tweet #%20">Tweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNd putting in work with 12 pts, 8 rebs, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Tweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNdTweet #We ?? you Zylan!@1KingZ4pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNd — Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) Tweet #November 13, 2018We%20??%20you%20Zylan!@1KingZ4%20putting%20in%20work%20with%2012%20pts,%208%20rebs,%202%20blocks,%20and%202%20steals.%20pic.twitter.com/3e4kELwjNd
—%20Sun%20Devil%20MBB%20(@SunDevilHoops)%20November%2013,%202018
In all three games this season, the Sun Devils have had at least five players in double figures. Martin paced ASU with 15 points, still recovering from an ankle sprain suffered on Oct. 10.
"He is doing great and getting close to back to where we want him at and we need him," said Hurley. "It's good to see him moving better. He's a great leader, great competitor to even play those first couple games when he wasn't 100 percent."
Luguentz Dort is an engine that never stops running. Tonight, he struggled offensively but never lost his identity. The freshman tallied 12 points and 12 rebounds in 31 minutes.
"That man is a great player," said Martin. "Playing against him in practice… its what we live for. This is how we play basketball."
Arizona State shot 44.6 percent from the field as a team, but coach Hurley believes many missed layups and open court situations would have made the stats look considerably better. There were multiple instances when it seemed like the ball touched every part of the rim but never found its way though.
We've%20won%2015%20straight%20regular%20season%20out%20of%20conference%20games%20??%20pic.twitter.com/QRO6CEbxyf
—%20Sun%20Devil%20MBB%20(@SunDevilHoops)%20November%2013,%202018%20">Tweet #%20">Tweet #We've won 15 straight regular season out of conference games ?? pic.twitter.com/QRO6CEbxyfTweet #We've won 15 straight regular season out of conference games ?? pic.twitter.com/QRO6CEbxyfTweet #We've won 15 straight regular season out of conference games ?? pic.twitter.com/QRO6CEbxyfTweet #We've won 15 straight regular season out of conference games ?? pic.twitter.com/QRO6CEbxyfTweet #We've won 15 straight regular season out of conference games ?? pic.twitter.com/QRO6CEbxyfTweet #We've won 15 straight regular season out of conference games ?? pic.twitter.com/QRO6CEbxyfTweet #We've won 15 straight regular season out of conference games ?? pic.twitter.com/QRO6CEbxyfTweet #We've won 15 straight regular season out of conference games ?? pic.twitter.com/QRO6CEbxyf — Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) Tweet #November 13, 2018We've%20won%2015%20straight%20regular%20season%20out%20of%20conference%20games%20??%20pic.twitter.com/QRO6CEbxyf
—%20Sun%20Devil%20MBB%20(@SunDevilHoops)%20November%2013,%202018
The Sun Devils look to continue their 16 straight regular season out of conference win streak on Friday, Nov. 16 against San Francisco. Tip-off from San Francisco, CA is slated for 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT and can be viewed on Pac-12 Networks and heard on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
SUN DEVIL OPPONENT FEWEST HALFTIME POINTS (SINCE 1989-90)
ASU 42, Delaware State 12 (Dec. 12, 2009)
ASU 20, Colgate 12 (Dec. 19, 2006)
ASU 36, Old Dominion 12 (Jan. 7, 1995)
ASU 34, @California 13 (Jan. 22, 2015)
ASU 19, @Oregon State 13 (Feb. 7, 2009)
ASU 33, Oregon State 13 (Feb. 25, 1995)
ASU 33, Bethune-Cookman 14 (Nov. 17, 2014)
ASU 24, @Stanford 14 (Jan. 27, 1991)
ASU 39, Western Illinois 15 (Nov. 13, 2009)
ASU 30, Oregon State 15 (Jan. 8, 2009)
ASU 38, Long Beach State 16 (Nov. 12, 2018)
DE'QUON LAKE DOUBLE FIGURE SCORING GAMES (10-2)
24 vs. Idaho State (11/10/17)
17 vs. Northern Arizona (11/17/17)
16 vs. Longwood (12/17/17)
15 vs. San Diego State (11/14/17)
12 vs. Colorado/P12 Tournament (3/7/18)
12 vs. Pacific (12/22/17)
11 vs. Oregon State (1/13/18)
11 vs. Kansas State (11/23/17)
10 vs. Long Beach State (11/12/18)
10 vs. California (3/1/18)
10 vs. Colorado (1/27/18)
10 vs. Utah (1/25/18)