(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
If you were to take the first 10 minutes out of consideration, the performance by the Sun Devils was a dominant one over the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, winning by a score of 77-55. Even the stat sheet shows just how much better ASU was on both ends of the floor, so it is almost like the beginning of the game didn’t even happen considering how well this team with still so little experience made the necessary adjustments and earned themselves the opportunity to run away with the game.
“Obviously we were really pleased with the way our guys kept their poise and composure when we fell behind by 15 early,” ASU head coach Herb Sendek said. “And they had the discipline they needed to stick to the game plan.”
A large contributor in the early comeback came from freshman guard Kodi Justice, who finished with 13 points, six assists, and five rebounds for the game in his first start in front of the crowd at Wells Fargo Arena.
“It was great with the team being so unselfish it made my role a lot easier,” Justice said. “With people coming off the bench like (Bo Barnes) and (Jonathan Gilling) and having great leaders, with (Eric Jacobsen), with all the returners, it just made my job a lot easier.”
Sendek had nothing but good things to say of the freshman and his performance, and said he was pleased with what he has brought to the table so far.
“He just has that something you can’t give him,” Sendek said. “I think in today’s popular vernacular, he has swag, in a good way.”
Justice, a graduate of Dobson High in Mesa, sure seemed to love playing in front of his home crowd, whether it was by his flashy passes or sticking out his tongue after a converting three pointer, you could tell the freshman was having a blast. You could also tell that the back spasms, which kept him out of ASU’s win over Colgate, were not an issue this game.
“It was just a little back spasm, it was nothing to serious, so I wasn’t too worried about it,” Justice said.
Another performance that jumps out on the stat sheet was from junior center Eric Jacobsen, who finished with a double-double, racking 16 points and 12 rebounds against a UNLV team who came into this game as one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country.
“What more can I say about Eric Jacobsen?” Sendek said. “A double-double, 16 points, 12 rebounds, six offensive rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots, only one turnover, and he played post defense like he should be, and I mean this seriously, a candidate for national defensive player of the year if there is such a thing in early December.”
Jacobsen played a huge part in holding UNLV to only 24.2-percent shooting in the second half, holding Christian Wood and Goodluck Okonoboh, the two starting big men for UNLV, to 13 points on 6-16 shooting as well as just nine rebounds between them.
But what really propelled ASU in the second half other than their suffocating defense was their three-point shooting. The Sun Devils hit 11 of their 22 attempted three-pointers, and Justice, Barnes, and Gilling made three each. Maybe the most crucial came from Justice in the first half to give ASU their first lead of the contest, which it didn’t give up for the rest of the game.
The three pointer has been crucial to ASU this season, and Justice described his feelings about playing with such great shooters like Barnes and Gilling in one simple sentence:
“It makes the game easier when you have shooters on the court.”
Despite the success from beyond the arc, it seemed that at points the Sun Devils may have settled for jumpers a little too much, but Sendek had no problems with the shots his team was taking.
“You’ve always got to take into account time and score, but (Gilling and Barnes) are proven shooters,” Sendek said. “So we just have a simple rule, when you’re open, and you’re uncontested, shoot it. If you’re not open, or it’s contested, move it, for those two guys.”
ASU plays on the road against Texas A&M next, and the Sun Devils are still looking for their first road win of the season.
“Obviously another though test for us,” Sendek said. “Texas A&M is an outstanding team in the South Eastern Conference they’re expected to be one of the better teams in that league this year. And its our first true road test having played two games at a neutral site.”
Two of the next three games are on the road, so Sendek and his team will learn a lot about their poise and grit over these next few games.
