Sophomore guard Chance Murray is defended by Bethune Cookman senior guard Maurice Taylor while attempting to inbound the ball in the second half of ASU's 49-39 win over the Wildcats at Wells Fargo Arena on Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. (Photo by Stefan Modrich)After dominating the first half, the ASU men's basketball team struggled to finish Monday night.
The Sun Devils (2-0) had to hold on to a 49-39 win over Bethune-Cookman. ASU led by as many as 22 points in the second half.
Junior forward Eric Jacobsen was ASU's best player, scoring 13 points and pulling down a career-high 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Senior forward Jonathan Gilling was the only other Sun Devil in double figures with 11 points off the bench.
In the first half, ASU put a stranglehold on the game, shooting 45 percent from the field and holding Bethune-Cookman to just 14 points, the lowest an opponent has scored since 12 in 2009.
Video by Stefan Modrich | Assistant Sports Editor
Coach Herb Sendek said that his team was focused on going inside, and it worked early on.
"I thought we started the game and did a very good job of going inside and that was a focus for us coming out of our first game and I thought our guys made a concerted effort to do that," Sendek said.
Jacobsen had 11 of his points in the first half, including shooting five-of-seven from the free throw line. Sendek said that Jacobsen is a completely different player from last season and he is proud of the junior's progression.
"Eric is really playing good basketball for us and he's doing it on a daily basis and if you came to our practice one after another you would discover the same thing," Sendek said. "He really has elevated his game tremendously, and right now is in line with yet another really good front court player who has shown dramatic improvement in our program."
Jacobsen said that he gained between 10 and 15 pounds from last season to this season to add something to his game. In the first half, he credited his teammates for feeding him when he was open.
"Coach talks to us a lot about running the floor and touching the baseline, diving and ducking and the guys have been finding me inside and just getting me the ball and we were scoring," Jacobsen said.
In the second half, however, ASU struggled. The Sun Devils shot just 29.4 percent from the field and were outscored 25-16 in the half. Sendek said that the change in style for the Wildcats shifted the momentum and left ASU helpless.
Video by Stefan Modrich | Assistant Sports Editor
"In the second half the game was played very differently, with them running the weave and taking time off the clock and playing zone," Sendek said. "The big problem for us is that we turned it over 19 times and we turned it over in every way possible."
In the second half, ASU had twice as many turnovers as made baskets, leading to the shrinking of their advantage. Sendek said that the fact that Bethune-Cookman held onto the ball so long during each possession may have helped lead to the stagnancy of the second half.
"You just felt the air evaporate from the gym as they held on to the ball and we kind of just sat around," Sendek said.
Sendek said his offense did not do anything they wanted to do in the second half, especially holding onto the ball.
"We were an offensive...nightmare in the second half," Sendek said. "We only had five field goals and 10 turnovers. I can't remember the last time a team had (those numbers) in a half. We didn't get to the foul line. They weren't fouling, they were packing in the zone and so we didn't get easy points at the free throw line. And I don't think all night we really got out in transition and ran and that was a big point of emphasis for us."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger
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