They story of the ASU men's basketball team's 73-55 win over Oregon State was the Sun Devils' lights out first half.
At the end of the half ASU led 40-23, with five players scoring more than five points apiece.
The Sun Devils were on fire from deep, managing to go 8-for-18 from 3-point range. Early in the first half, ASU went on a 11-0 run, where three players scored back to back-to-back 3's. The Sun Devils scored 24 points off of 3-pointers in the first half, one point more than Oregon State scored in the entire half.
“It’s good to make outside shots against a zone,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “Like we've said all along, when the ball is going in, it makes a big difference. Our guys are shooting the ball with good confidence and getting pretty good shots.”
Senior guard Bo Barnes finished the half with nine points, making 3 of 5 attempts from deep, with all of his field goals coming from beyond the arc.
“I think he is really learning how to work,” Sendek said. “He is putting extra time in after practice, he's getting a lot of extra shooting work in, his confidence is growing, he is getting more comfortable, and I think his improvement has been amazing through the month of January. He's really playing excellent basketball for us.”
Freshman guard Tra Holder and senior forward Jonathan Gilling each contributed two shots from deep, and junior guard Gerry Blakes also got in on the action with a three of his own.
“Jon and Bo give me a lot of layups,” senior forward Shaquielle McKissic said. “That’s the beauty when guys are knocking down shots.”
“It definitely helps with the spacing.” Barnes said.
The Sun Devils also shot 100 percent from the free throw line in the first half, with McKissic hitting all four of his free throws. Junior guard Gerry Blakes also went 2-2 from the charity strike.
ASU would not look back after their blowout first half, finishing the game with a healthy 18 point win. Although the hot shooting from deep would cool off, ASU was able to produce in other ways. ASU would continue their impressive free throw shooting however, going 18 for 23 from the charity strike, finishing at 78.3 percent.
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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