Alonzo Gaffney hit his first five three-pointers in the first half as the Sun Devil men's hoops team raced to an early lead and then sustained the momentum in an 82-67 win over Vanderbilt in Las Vegas Friday evening.
Gaffney ended with a career-best 19 points while Jose Perez added 15 and Jamiya Neal 14 as ASU shot .518 (29-of-56) from the field and 10-of-22 (.455) from three. ASU had an 11-0 run and led by as many as 18 (64-46) to beat Vanderbilt for the fifth time in six tries.
ASU also shot 14-of-17 (.820) from the free throw line.
The Sun Devils (3-2) now host Sam Houston State Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Desert Financial Arena.
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley:
On the difference tonight compared to last night:
"I think we just saw the ball go into the basket early in the game and it gave us confidence. I think our defense was still solid, it's kind of what's been working well for us. I saw something coming with (Alonzo) Gaffney, I thought It might've been last night or I was hoping, since he's been practicing very well. He was in foul trouble early in that game but he really had it going and got us off to a great start."
On if he said anything to fire up the team:
"There are different ways to motivate. I avoided really going into a lot of detail. We said what we needed to say after the game to try to motivate today, we needed to turn the page to focus on this opponent. So there was no time to really dwell on it anymore than that."
On ASU Freshman guard Braelon Green's impact:
"I liked what he did tonight. We're still searching; it's a work in progress to figure out rotations and who's earning minutes and those kinds of things. So to see him go out there and guard the ball the way he did with the amount of energy. When they cut it to 12, he hit a big three in the right corner. For a freshman to step in and make that kind of shot, it kind of stopped their comeback for a minute."
On Gaffney breaking out of a slump tonight:
"He's had a great offseason. He was really good for us down the stretch for us last year. Unfortunately he had the foot injury where he missed 11 days and then virtually practiced two days and was playing so he's still finding his way but he looked really confident out there. The shot looks like the ball should go in when it leaves his hands every time. I know the percentages don't say he should've had a game like that but you see it in practice and what he's done for us in the past."
On the team's improvement at the free-throw line:
"I think they're tired of us talking about it. As coaches or maybe they're getting more comfortable in an Arizona State Uniform. I can't put my finger on that, I'm just happy that we stepped up to the free throw line and made our shots tonight."
On stopping Vanderbilt's momentum when they would make a run:
"I talked about Braelon's three, Jamiya (Neal) had one in front of our bench. Frankie (Collins) had a couple good drives and we were able to do what we needed to do at the free-throw line. We got a little bit sloppy when they cut it to ten but you just can't give a team hope, to get back into a game. We held a comfortable lead for most of the time."
Arizona State Forward Alonzo Gaffney:
On being in a good rhythm tonight:
"I just felt really confident. The game just flowed to me. It felt like a pretty fluent game. Just thinking about yesterday's game, we didn't like that feeling so I just credit my teammates for finding me in the open spots. I hit a lot of open jumpers today, so it felt good."
On if he sensed a turnaround game tonight:
"I worked a lot in the summer. So I didn't expect me to be shooting the ball like I have these last couple of games. But being open and finding my rhythm, going out there and hitting opening shots.
On having consistent games like tonight as a team:
"Just being together and playing with each other. We play a lot better when we get more assists in a game, turn teams over and play our defense so it's just about playing together, finding each other on the open shots."
Gaffney ended with a career-best 19 points while Jose Perez added 15 and Jamiya Neal 14 as ASU shot .518 (29-of-56) from the field and 10-of-22 (.455) from three. ASU had an 11-0 run and led by as many as 18 (64-46) to beat Vanderbilt for the fifth time in six tries.
ASU also shot 14-of-17 (.820) from the free throw line.
The Sun Devils (3-2) now host Sam Houston State Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Desert Financial Arena.
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley:
On the difference tonight compared to last night:
"I think we just saw the ball go into the basket early in the game and it gave us confidence. I think our defense was still solid, it's kind of what's been working well for us. I saw something coming with (Alonzo) Gaffney, I thought It might've been last night or I was hoping, since he's been practicing very well. He was in foul trouble early in that game but he really had it going and got us off to a great start."
On if he said anything to fire up the team:
"There are different ways to motivate. I avoided really going into a lot of detail. We said what we needed to say after the game to try to motivate today, we needed to turn the page to focus on this opponent. So there was no time to really dwell on it anymore than that."
On ASU Freshman guard Braelon Green's impact:
"I liked what he did tonight. We're still searching; it's a work in progress to figure out rotations and who's earning minutes and those kinds of things. So to see him go out there and guard the ball the way he did with the amount of energy. When they cut it to 12, he hit a big three in the right corner. For a freshman to step in and make that kind of shot, it kind of stopped their comeback for a minute."
On Gaffney breaking out of a slump tonight:
"He's had a great offseason. He was really good for us down the stretch for us last year. Unfortunately he had the foot injury where he missed 11 days and then virtually practiced two days and was playing so he's still finding his way but he looked really confident out there. The shot looks like the ball should go in when it leaves his hands every time. I know the percentages don't say he should've had a game like that but you see it in practice and what he's done for us in the past."
On the team's improvement at the free-throw line:
"I think they're tired of us talking about it. As coaches or maybe they're getting more comfortable in an Arizona State Uniform. I can't put my finger on that, I'm just happy that we stepped up to the free throw line and made our shots tonight."
On stopping Vanderbilt's momentum when they would make a run:
"I talked about Braelon's three, Jamiya (Neal) had one in front of our bench. Frankie (Collins) had a couple good drives and we were able to do what we needed to do at the free-throw line. We got a little bit sloppy when they cut it to ten but you just can't give a team hope, to get back into a game. We held a comfortable lead for most of the time."
Arizona State Forward Alonzo Gaffney:
On being in a good rhythm tonight:
"I just felt really confident. The game just flowed to me. It felt like a pretty fluent game. Just thinking about yesterday's game, we didn't like that feeling so I just credit my teammates for finding me in the open spots. I hit a lot of open jumpers today, so it felt good."
On if he sensed a turnaround game tonight:
"I worked a lot in the summer. So I didn't expect me to be shooting the ball like I have these last couple of games. But being open and finding my rhythm, going out there and hitting opening shots.
On having consistent games like tonight as a team:
"Just being together and playing with each other. We play a lot better when we get more assists in a game, turn teams over and play our defense so it's just about playing together, finding each other on the open shots."