By Greg Dillard
As the nonconference schedule winds down for the ASU men’s basketball team, the Sun Devils (6-4) continue to be a work in progress on the court.
ASU took a step forward and extended its winning streak to three as it defeated Long Beach State on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Behind 15 points from senior guard Ty Abbott and 12 points and 16 rebounds from freshman forward Kyle Cain, the Sun Devils defeated the 49ers (5-8) 72-55.
“We have great respect for Long Beach,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “We knew we had to play very well this afternoon to win the game. They really score on offense. They put points on the board. I was particularly pleased with our defensive effort tonight. Having them shoot 33 percent in addition to having 18 turnovers. I thought that was really the key for us.”
After suffering from a groin injury against Nevada, senior guard Jamelle McMillan returned tonight to net eight points, five assists, and six steals.
“We thought [McMillan] was going to be able to play,” Sendek said. “We didn’t know for certain until he warmed up. After the Nevada game we shut him down. He didn’t do anything. He didn’t even go through the shoot around this afternoon. That shows you the degree of sensitivity we have for what he’s dealing with.”
With McMillan anchoring the offense, ASU exploded in the second half that included a 28-8 run to surge ahead.
The Sun Devil defense limited LBSU junior forward T.J. Robinson and junior guard Casper Ware to 12 points apiece.
“Overall we did pretty good,” Abbott said. “The big thing for us second half, right out of the gate, a lot of teams like to jump on us and we didn’t have that happen tonight. We had some stops and we started to run the ball and that was key for us to have that second half spurt. It helped out a lot.”
Senior guard Greg Plater led the stagnant 49er offense with 15 points of his own. The Sun Devil defense rose to the occasion and shut down Long Beach State’s offensive attack throughout the second half.
“It was big for us,” Abbott said. “We did a good job at knowing personnel and shooters and who was going to drive and things like that.”
The Sun Devils conclude the non conference portion of the 2010-2011 season Thursday when they will host North Carolina A&T at home. ASU will then kick off its conference season against Oregon State on Dec. 30.
As Pac-10 play looms for ASU, Sendek believes his team is headed in the right direction.
“We’re still so much a work in progress,” Sendek said. “We have to get so much better than we are. I think over the course of the last two plus weeks we’ve taken some baby steps. Our guys have done a pretty good job in practice the last couple weeks. We’ve gotten a little bit better.”
The ASU men’s basketball team is back in action at home this Thursday, December 23 against North Carolina A&T. You can listen to the game right here at www.blazeradioonline.com
This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 at 10:05 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply