Senior Shaquielle McKissic takes to the rim on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015 against the Colorado Buffaloes at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils went on to with against the Buffalos 78-72. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)The ASU men's basketball team had a much better game this time around after its breakdown against Utah.
Senior forward Shaquielle McKissic had a stellar performance, scoring 16 points after only managing to score seven points in his previous outing. McKissic also had a flurry of dunks in the game, including an alley-oop, as well as a two-handed fast break jam to beat the halftime buzzer.
“I’m glad to see at least something I'm doing is paying dividends,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “The fans love it, people love it, and today he had a couple that were kind of breathtaking. He's a great athlete and he's at his best when he is attacking.”
McKissic was one of five Sun Devils to finish with double-figures in scoring, including senior guard Bo Barnes and junior guard Gerry Blakes, who both finished with 12 points, and junior forward Eric Jacobsen and freshman guard Tra Holder, who both finished with 10 points apiece.
Blakes and Jacobsen both saw reduced playing time as the game went on because of foul trouble, something that affected ASU’s performance against Utah.
ASU also shot considerably better from beyond the arc in this game, shooting an impressive 50 percent on 10 for 20. Barnes made four of the team's 10 3-pointers.
“Bo had a tremendous will to win tonight,” Sendek said. “He was a real leader today.”
The Sun Devils also shot much better from the field overall, shooting 55 percent on 26 for 47.
The Sun Devils had 20 assists as a team tonight, double what they average in the statistic. Sendek attributed the jump in this category to the team's scoring tonight.
“It's just the ball going in,” Sendek said. “I think the biggest thing tonight was that we were making baskets, I thought the ball moved pretty good.”
Holder went 8 for 10 from the free throw line, leading his team in the category. His performance from the line late in the game was a big reason ASU got the win tonight.
“I really love that our freshman point guard went to the line and went 8 for 10.”
ASU earned its first conference win before heading out on the road to face Cal.
“It’s a real good feeling knowing you got a win going into Cal.” McKissic said.
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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