With a season-high of 29 points, junior guard Evan Gordon helped propel Arizona State past the Sacramento State Hornets 90-70 Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
The win marks the seventh time that ASU has scored 90 points under Head Coach Herb Sendek.
“We were really in a good rhythm tonight. We shared the ball, we moved the ball, and we made shots,” Sendek said. “This is a good win for our team. Our guys were very aware that our opponent had already won in our league on the road.”
Forward Carrick Felix and Gordon combined for 50 points, including six three-pointers.
“It was great to see Evan have a performance like he did tonight, and Carrick continues to just play outstanding basketball at both ends on the floor,” Sendek said.
It was a breakthrough performance for Gordon since he came into the game averaging only 7.5 points per game.
“Personally I was happy to finally get going,” Gordon said. “I just kept shooting after practice and before practice and they eventually started falling. After one goes down it just releases all the pressure, and you just stop thinking about it. Eventually I knew it was going to come.”
ASU came out firing on all cylinders with an 8-0 run to open the game. Gordon scored eight of the team’s first 15 points. With 7:51 left in the first half, ASU led 25-21 but was able to pull away after Dylan Garrity and Mikh McKinney both committed their third foul and went to the bench for Sacramento State. Hornets head coach Brian Katz then accumulated two technical fouls and was ejected for jawing at the referees. The Sun Devils then scored nine points in a span of 53 seconds, and ultimately closed the half on a 15-6 run to lead 46-30.
In the second half, Gordon and Felix continued to attack the basket. Gordon shot 60 percent from three-point range, and Felix added 10 points. The Hornets cut the lead to 10 points with 13 minutes left, but ASU was able to pull away.
The Sun Devils will host Hartford (4-3) on Wednesday, December 5th at 6:30 p.m.
