ASU opens NIT with easy win over Alabama State

 by Alex Espinoza
 published on Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Jeffrey Lowman / THE STATE PRESS

STATEMENT MADE: Freshman guard James Harden celebrates after fellow freshman Rihards Kuksiks sinks a 3-pointer in ASU’s 64-53 victory over Alabama State.

Jeffrey Lowman / THE STATE PRESS

ALABAMAN SLAMMIN’: Sophomore center Eric Boateng elevates for a dunk in the Sun Devils’ victory over Alabama State Tuesday.

One down, four to go.

The ASU men's basketball team certainly looked like a No. 1 seed Tuesday night in its 64-53 win over Alabama State in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena.

For the first half anyway.

"The first half we came out with a chip on our shoulder," ASU freshman guard James Harden said. "Second half, I guess we got too comfortable. We had a little lead, got comfortable, then they made a run and picked up the intensity on defense.

"We just had to settle down to come out with the victory."

At the onset of the game, there was little doubt as to who was the Pac-10 tested team. ASU dominated on both ends of the floor and held Alabama State to just one field goal for more than the first 10 minutes of the contest.

Meanwhile, a pair of Sun Devil freshmen guards took over on offense. Harden owned the paint while Ty Abbott made a living from behind the arc.

The two combined for 26 first-half points, with 15 of them coming via Abbott 3-pointer's. Harden established himself as the best player on the floor and was able to get to the rim at will.

He finished with game-highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds in his first postseason action, while Abbott went scoreless in the second half to end with 15 points.

ASU enjoyed an 18-3 lead before the Hornets were able to convert their second bucket of the game, a lay in by forward Richard Lott with 9:25 left in the half. The Sun Devils then rattled off four 3-pointers over the next four minutes to take a commanding 30-9 lead but appeared to take its foot off the pedal after that.

Alabama State answered with an 8-0 run to make the game little more interesting at 30-17. ASU was able to recoup its energy before intermission, though, taking a 39-21 lead into the locker room.

The half ended on a monstrous dunk by sophomore forward Eric Boateng. The one-handed slam was no doubt the hardest dunk thrown down by Boateng all season.

"[Boateng]'s coming along real well," Harden said. "He's been finishing strong and making big plays for us."

ASU didn't look nearly as dominant in the second half and slowly let Alabama State creep into the game. A driving layup by Lott with 3:05 left in the game cut the Hornets' deficit to eight with the score at 59-51. It was the first time they were within a single-digit deficit since the score was 12-3.

From that point on, the Sun Devils were able to keep a lid on Alabama State and closed the victory to set them up with No. 4-seeded Southern Illinois Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

"We've got a mission to accomplish," Harden said. "We've got to prove people wrong, that's our goal."

It wasn't an NCAA Tournament game, but junior forward Jeff Pendergraph still looked as emotional as ever. He and Alabama State forward Roland Fitch got tangled up on a play with 7:27 left in the first half and both picked up technical fouls.

Fitch looked to trip up Pendergraph next to the basket and Pendergraph responded by getting in his face and letting out a menacing yell.

The technical came back to haunt Pendergraph, though, who picked up his fourth foul and sat on the bench with 8:51 remaining in the game.

Boateng softened the blow by giving ASU coach Herb Sendek eight points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes of quality backup play.

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