Jordan Bachynski’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw Idaho State junior forward Jeffrey Solarin looking to put up a layup after catching an airball early in the second half.
Solarin threw up a floater from the right block, only to have it blocked by the ASU senior center right before the shot reached its peak.
With that block, Bachynski passed Mario Bennett’s all-time school record in blocks at 191. Bachynski rejected two more shots to bring his career total up to 194.
To top off Bachynski’s historic night, the Sun Devils (3-0) had their third consecutive blowout of the season by routing Idaho State 88-60 Friday night.
“I’m just really fortunate to be on a team where I can (break the record),” Bachynski said. “The coaches really encouraged me to develop that and to play hard. I’m helping my team in any way I could.”
It seemed like the ideal night for him to reach that milestone. Bachynski credited the coaching staff for thoroughly scouting Idaho State (1-1) and for helping him prepare for a big night defensively.
“We knew today that their guards were drivers and they were going to take it to the hoop,” Bachynski said. “I needed to be there on help-side (defense). That really helped.”
Bachynski finished the game a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with his six blocks, and he needed only 20 minutes to do it.
ASU coach Herb Sendek said he sees Bachynski taking a different mindset this season after his experiences with the Canadian national team and noted the improvement he’s made over his career.
“Not to take away anything from where he started, but boy, we really started from the beginning,” Sendek said. “If there is a more improved guy (in college basketball) over the course of four years, I’d like to see him.”
Idaho State challenged the Sun Devils in the first half, making seven of its shots in the first eight minutes. ASU kept the game close by forcing the Bengals to pick up many fouls early in the game and creating turnovers.
Tied at 15, ASU went on a 9-0 run courtesy of 3-pointers from freshman guard Chance Murray, senior forward Richie Edwards and senior guard Jermaine Marshall to pull away to a comfortable advantage at 24-15. From there, the Sun Devils didn’t look back.
After not scoring in ASU’s last game against Miami (Ohio), junior wing Shaquielle McKissic had two athletic plays — a circus layup and a dunk over Bengals freshman forward Scotty Tyler — to send the Sun Devils into halftime with a 41-25 lead.
Despite Idaho State’s hot start, ASU ended the half shooting 50 percent from the field while the Bengals shot just 34.5 percent. It was just a matter of the Sun Devils finding their groove.
“We just continued to grind and we were able to string together some additional stops,” Sendek said. “They started the game shooting the basketball exceptionally well, made even a couple tough shots against us. It was more of a matter of staying to what we were doing.”
ASU pulled away in the second half, outscoring Idaho State 47-35. The Sun Devils had another barrage of 3-pointers and shot 12-of-29 from the perimeter.
The referees called the game tightly. Forty-eight fouls were called between the two teams and a total of 56 free throws were attempted.
ASU freshman forward Egor Koulechov also had a big night for the Sun Devils by attacking the paint and going to the free throw line nine times. Koulechov finished with nine points and four steals.
“Anytime I’m coming down the court to play, I’m trying to play physical and help my team to win,” Koulechov said. “That’s what I was trying to do today and I was fortunate.”
Redshirt sophomore point guard Jahii Carson momentarily left the game with an apparent injury midway into the first half but quickly returned. He had a slow first half and scored just five points but erupted with 14 points in the second half and knocked down all three of his 3-point attempts.
Marshall finished with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting with three rebounds and two blocks and also hit three 3-pointers.
This was the second consecutive game ASU had 30 points off the bench. Sendek was pleased with his reserves’ play and thinks he set with his rotation that will include an average of 10 players.
“We’ve been the fortunate the past couple of games to be able to substitute rather liberally,” Sendek said. “That’s been a really good thing for our young players. Once again tonight, our young guys really helped us. … “I’m excited about that core group of young guys.”
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
