The ASU men’s basketball lineup was stretched thin without junior forward Savon Goodman. It was pressed even more when senior center Eric Jacobsen was forced to miss time in the game.
With a short week of practice due to holidays and the absence of head coach Bobby Hurley due to the death of his father-in-law, the situation provided a challenge.
“It definitely affected our preparation some and that, coupled with giving the guys off for three days, it’s been a tough couple days,” Hurley said.
Despite the hurdles, ASU (10-3) gained second-half momentum and defeated Cal State Bakersfield (8-5) 75-59.
“To be 10-3 with this type of schedule that we’ve had, I don’t know how many teams in the country would be able to say that,” Hurley added.
Jacobsen departed to the locker room early after rolling his ankle, but returned about five minutes later.
Hurley said he looked good, particularly after playing extended minutes that included a long stretch on the bench.
“(That’s) usually is a good sign,” he said.
Jacobsen picked up his second foul with 1:28 in the first half and checked-out. He fouled to begin the second half and then picked up another less than two minutes later, forcing him to sit for the majority of it.
He wasn’t able to guard senior center Aly Ahmed, who had a size advantage over every ASU player except Jacobsen. Ahmed’s combination of power and speed allowed him to set high picks, get the ball in the middle and create his own look. In the first half, he had eight points on eight attempts before picking up a pair of fouls and being forced to sit for the final six minutes.
ASU shut down CSUB’s leading scorer, redshirt freshman guard Damiyne Durham. He only got off two shots in the first half and did not score a point.
Junior guard Andre Spight played some defense on him. He said the team had scouted Durham.
“We just made sure he didn’t catch the ball where he likes to,” Spight said. “He had a lot of threes on film.”
The Sun Devils weren’t able to take advantage of the ineffectiveness of CSUB’s top players. They only made eight shots in the half, shooting 28.6 percent from the field, and made only two of their nine three-point attempts.
ASU led 29-28 at halftime.
The Sun Devils came roaring back in the second behind two things that eluded them the entire first half: the three-pointer, and energy.
With the score tied at 40, ASU struggled to get the ball upcourt in 10 seconds. With a lack of off-ball movement, the team couldn’t create a play.
Sophomore guard Tra Holder got a little space with the shot clock dwindling and sank a three to take the 43-40 lead. On the next possession, he made another.
“I’m not shooting the percentage I want to shoot but coaches are giving all of us confidence,” he said.
Later, Holder drove to the rim and found a wide-open Spight on the wing. A defender charged his way.
“I saw him coming, I knew I was going to get tackled but I just let it go real quick,” Spight said, and then joked, “(I) couldn’t hold my follow through on that one.”
He made the basket and hit the free throw for a four-point play.
ASU shot 7-11 from behind the arc and 54.2 percent from the field in the half.
Spight said the difficult non-conference schedule helped them prepare for close games and allowed them to close out in a situation he said was similar to the loss to Sacramento State earlier in the season.
“We had a crazy practice after that,” he said. “I think in the back of our minds we were thinking about that practice so we’re not having that (anymore).”
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