ASU cruises past Long Beach State
Before the season started, ASU basketball coach Bobby Hurley talked about how his team's strengths are its inside play and defensive intensity. The Sun Devils played well in spurts the first two games but hadn't quite lived up to Hurley's expectations when it came to defense.
Well they did exactly what he wanted in Monday's outing, using that tough defense in surging to a 90-58 win over visiting Long Beach State in non-conference play at Wells Fargo Arena.
Ten ASU players factored in the scoring, with six finishing in double figures. Sophomore point guard Remy Martin led the way with 15 points, including 8 of 10 from the line. He also had five assists and two steals.
Kimani Lawrence tallied 13 with Zylan Cheatham and Luguentz Dort chipping in 12 each. Dort, who had 53 points total in the previous two games, also had 12 rebounds and four assists. The Sun Devils shot 43.9 percent (29 for 66) but had 17 assists and a huge 62-31 edge in rebounding.
Long Beach State shot 27.9 percent (17 for 61) and had 16 turnovers. It didn't have a player in double figures in either scoring or rebounding.
The Sun Devils (3-0) were in control from start to finish, taking a commanding 38-16 lead into the locker room at halftime. Long Beach State (1-2) shot 6of-31 from the field, which included a woeful 2 of 15 from long distance. There were also nine turnovers that led to easy points at the other end.
The 16 points Long Beach State scored in the first half were the fewest by an ASU opponent in a half since Cal managed just 13 against the Sun Devils on Dec. 22, 2015.
The highlight plays were many. There was another steal by Martin, who dished the ball off to Dort who then unleashed a pass to Romello White for a dunk.
The final points of the first half came in similar fashion as Martin poked the ball loose from a Long Beach State player and dished the ball off to Dort who cruised in for a dunk.
The second half started much the way the first half ended. Martin had another one of his steals and dropped the ball off again, this time to Lawrence whose dunk made it 42-18.
It got only slightly better for Long Beach State, picked to finish fifth in the nine-team Big West. It cut the lead to 15 on a 3-pointer by Jordan Griffin that made it 49-34 with 12:13 to go but that was as close as they'd come.
Long Beach State was also without standout Deishaun Booker for much of the game. Booker, who scored 31 points on Friday in a loss to UCLA, picked up three fouls in the first half, then went to the bench 31 seconds into the second half after being called for his fourth.
Long Beach State's Demetrius Mims was ejected with 6:43 left in the game after being called for a flagrant foul on a dunk by Lawrence that made it 69-46.
Junior guard Rob Edwards missed his second straight game with a back injury. He took part in the morning shootaround but did not participate in pregame warmups.
ASU will hit the road for the next three games, starting with a game on Friday at University of San Francisco.