ASU men’s basketball sophomore guard Kodi Justice is accustomed to hot streaks.
“In high school, I had a game where I had ten threes,” he said.
After limited first-half minutes on Saturday against Houston Baptist (4-7), Justice found himself in the middle of another.
He hit a 20-footer off to the left of the middle of the arc. On the following possession, he got a pass in the same place. With a defender in his face and landing off-balance, he hit it again.
Two possessions later, he was back at his spot. Sophomore guard Tra Holder drove and dished the ball to Justice. With two defenders running at him, Justice casually touched nothing but net.
He went 6-8 from behind the three-point line in the game, finishing with a team-high 20 points in ASU’s (8-3) 98-79 domination over HBU.
“Kodi had the outburst in the second half that kind of the separated ourselves from them,” head coach Bobby Hurley said.
ASU wasn’t shooting incredibly efficient the whole time, though. The Sun Devils began 3-12 from the field and missed their first four three-pointers. The Devils hung around, thanks to offensive rebounds; four came in the first 6:12, leading to five points and a 13-12 lead.
Once ASU began making shots, it ran away with the game. Justice said the 12 first-half assists created open shots.
“We were just playing as a team,” he said. “When we get the ball moving and we find guys open, people knock in shots.”
In the first half, ASU went to Eric Jacobsen often. He had six shots, two of which turned into and-one opportunities.
“We like to throw it inside and we want to establish ourselves in the paint,” Hurley said. “If you get some things done early in the paint, then the floor opens up some.”
Jacobsen finished the first half with 10 points.
Six of the eight Sun Devils to receive time in the half had at least six points. ASU made seven shots in a row over a three-minute span, increasing its lead from three to 15. It finished the half by making 11 of its final 15 shots.
The team shot 48.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from behind the arc. Its 49 points in the half were the most first-half points this season.
Its hot shooting continued into the second half, during which ASU made 10 of its first 12 field goals, including an 8-8 span.
Justice said that grabbing a big lead allowed the team to play without worry, something they haven’t experienced much this season after playing close games at UNLV, Kentucky and against Texas A&M.
“To be able to be free and have fun, and have no worry really if you accidentally make a mistake… we’re just out there having fun, playing together and just trying to build from that,” he said.
HBU’s leading scorer, senior guard Anthony Odunsi, got going in the second half after going 0-5 in the first. He scored 12 points in the half off 5-6 shooting, doing so on crafty drives and an ability to maneuver around defenders. It wasn’t enough, though; ASU’s offensive was too efficient.
With seven minutes remaining in the game, the Sun Devils were shooting 66.7 percent from the field in the half and 83.3 from three-point range. Their lead increased to 30 before settling in and winning 98-79.
Five players had double-digit points for ASU. Senior forward Willie Atwood finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“I couldn’t be happier for like 32 minutes with how the team played and competed at both ends,” Hurley said.
Hurley and Justice were the only two people available for interviews after the game.
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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