By Cal Aboud, SDA Media Relations Student Assistant
BROOKLYN, NY. – Led by a career-high 22 points from sophomore guard Tra Holder, the Arizona State men's basketball team (3-1) defeated North Carolina State 79-76, to advance to the Legends Classic Championship in Brooklyn, New York. Arizona State displayed a balanced offensive attack, as four Sun Devils including the aforementioned Holder scored in double-figures. Savon Goodman notched his seventh-career double-double finishing with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Seniors Gerry Blakes and Eric Jacobsen added 13 and 11 respectively, while also contributing six rebounds apiece.
TRA HOLDER TOP SCORING GAMES
22 vs. NC State (11/24/15)
17 vs. Sacramento St. (11/13/15)
16 vs. Oregon (1/30/15)
15 vs. Stanford (3/5/15)
15 vs. Arizona (2/7/15)
15 vs. Pepperdine (12/13/14)
SAVON GOODMAN CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES
21/16 vs. NC State (11/24/15)
13/12 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 REBOUNDING GAMES
17 at Richmond (3/22/15)
16 vs. NC State (11/24/15)
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)
The Sun Devils who have now outrebounded opponents a combined 145-90 on the season, won the battle on the boards 47-35, hauling 19 offensive rebounds which equated to 43% of the team's missed shots.
Arizona State who tallied 68 shot attempts, the most since Dec. 12 of 2014, finished at 42.6 percent (29-68) from the field and 71.4 percent (15-21) from the charity stripe.
Bobby Hurley's squad got off to hot start out of the gate, opening on a 5-0 run. An and-1 from Goodman at the 19:04 mark set the tone for what would amass to a highly-contested, high-scoring matchup. Goodman who would go on to lead all players at the half with eight rebounds, dominated the glass early pulling in four boards in just five minutes of play. Goodman and Jacobsen proved to be a force in the frontcourt, with Jacobsen adding four rebounds of his own. Twice Jacobsen collected an offensive board, only to finish strong with the puback. Foul Trouble limited the big man to just seven minutes in the half.
In a half of basketball that saw seven lead changes, both teams benefitted from a string of runs. After a pair of free throws by Holder put the Sun Devils ahead 16-11 at the 13:45 mark, the Wolfpack would go on to what would accumulate to an 11-2 run. The Wolfpack managed to maintain the lead for a better part of the remainder of the period. At the 1:29 mark both teams were assessed a flagrant-1. Awarded the ball out of the flagrant, Blakes drilled a contested shot from beyond the arc, allowing the Sun Devils to retain a 35-34 lead, only for NC State to respond with a three of their own. After a pair of free throws form Blakes cut the deficit to 37-38, an ailing Andre Spight banked in a deep three at the buzzer to give the Sun Devils a hard-fought 40-38 lead heading into halftime.
Holder continued where Spight left off at the end of the first half, opening the final period of play with a three of his own, spurring a 12-5 run for the Sun Devils. Despite managing to attain a double-figure lead twice in the period, the Sun Devils struggled to hold off a late rally by the wolfpack led by guard Cat Barber who notched 22 points on the night. The Wolfpack who trailed 64-54 with just 8:44 remaining, outscored the Sun Devils 15-2 over a four-minute span, jumping to 69-66 lead. A pair of free throws and a jumper from Holder, moved the contest back to a tie at 70-70. An impressive layup through a foul by Goodman, and ever timely three from Holder pushed the Sun Devils ahead 78-73. A late push by the Wolfpack fell short as a contested-three by Barber at the buzzer failed to find the borrom of the net.
By virtue of tonight's victory, the Sun Devils will take on Marquette in the championship of the Legends Classic Championship tomorrow Nov. 24, at 6:00 p.m. MST. The matchup will be nationally televised on ESPN 2. Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd will have the call on ESPN 620 AM.
Tommorow night's matchup will mark the third time in three seasons that the two teams have faced-off. The Sun Devils defeated the Golden Eagles 78-77 in 2013-14, while falling 78-71 this past season. Marquette who is 2-2 on the season, defeated the No. 22 ranked LSU Tigers to advance to the championship round.
