Sun Devils wire to wire in win

 by Alex Espinoza
 published on Monday, February 25, 2008

Courtesy Of The Daily

ELBOW BAR: Sophomore Derek Glasser holds back a University of Washington player during Saturday evening’s game in Seattle.

Wasn't that easier?

Of course, nothing comes simply in the Pac-10. But at least the ASU men's basketball team was able to save a few more of coach Herb Sendek's fleeting hairs in a 77-63 win over Washington in Seattle on Saturday.

In a departure from their identity as the "comeback kids," the Sun Devils (17-9, 7-7 Pac-10) scored the first basket of the game and never looked back.

"Obviously, it was very disappointing," UW coach Lorenzo Romar said, according to UW media relations. "Arizona State played a fantastic ball game today. Today was just the old cliché: 'They were the better team overall.'"

Sendek had been preaching that his team needed more consistency earlier in the week, and that's exactly what he got against UW (15-13, 6-9 Pac-10). ASU's rabid zone defense kept the Huskies offense in check, limiting them to just 35.5 percent shooting from the field for the game.

The Sun Devils were equally impressive on the offensive end and ran Sendek's Princeton-style offense efficiently. There was great off–the–ball movement, crisp passing and ASU was able to knock down its open shots.

"The way they [Sun Devils] were playing with their methodical approach, they were in a nice rhythm," Romar said.

ASU freshman guard James Harden rebounded from a subpar outing against Washington State Thursday to score a game-high 25 points and grab eight rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.

It was a classic "Big Game" James performance, full of tough drives to the basket and proficient spot up shooting. He went 8-of-12 from the free-throw line.

Freshman forward Rihards Kuksiks looks to have solidified his position alongside Harden in the starting five as well. He went 6-of-8 from the field including 3-of-5 from behind the arc, equaling his career-high of 15 points.

Romar had trouble pronouncing the Latvian sniper's last name in the post-game conference, but he knows who the kid is now.

"Kukiks, Kuksiks, number 30, makes [ASU] an even better team," Romar said. "He's a mismatch problem at times. For a big [man] he hit big baskets for [ASU]."

UW junior forward Jon Brockman notched his 20th double-double of the season with his 21 point, 15 rebound effort. He was the lone bright spot for the Huskies, who were never able to get anything going against the Sun Devils.

ASU led 32-26 at intermission and UW crept to within five points a couple of times early in the second half, but that's as close as it would get. The Huskies also went ice cold during a seven-minute stretch in the first half and couldn't convert a field goal.

UW senior guard Ryan Appleby had a big hand in the Huskies misfortunes, as he went just 4-of-15 from three-point range, taking several ill-advised shots that really killed UW momentum. The Huskies shot just 19 percent from behind the arc as a team.

But the Sun Devils looked to be feeling it all game from downtown, and they were able to convert 13 of its 25 3-point attempts. Harden, Kuksiks, freshman guard Ty Abbott and sophomore guard Derek Glasser all knocked down multiple 3-pointers.

Reach the reporter at: alex.espinoza@asu.edu.