Dec. 21, 2010
FS Arizona recap by Daron Sutton and Tom Kuyper (Fox Sports AZ/Dec. 21)
Ty's postgame interview with FS Arizona
ASU Freshman Cain Working Out Nicely (Jack Magruder, Fox Sports AZ/Dec. 21)
By Seth Markzon
Arizona State took on the Long Beach State 49ers in an early evening game on Tuesday. The Sun Devils, coming off a thrilling victory at Nevada on Friday kept their good play rolling in a 17-point victory 72-55.
Kyle Cain's power in the paint was a big factor in the victory. Kyle had eight rebounds in each half, six on the offensive end, and added 12-points.
"I know I'm undersized but I work as hard as I can and try to get my hands on every ball," Cain said about his rebounding performance. The Sun Devils out rebounded the LBSU 41-35 showing a lot of hustle and dominant inside presence, as they have outrebounded their last four opponents.
Defensively, the Sun Devils forced a season-high 18 turnovers. Jamelle McMillan led the squad with six steals, the most by an ASU player since James Harden in 2008. Considering McMillan hasn't practiced since the Nevada game due to nursing an injury, he showed what a true leader he is and what he really means to the team.
T.J. Robinson, Long Beach States leading offensive point threat was held to only 12-points after getting 31 and 19 against North Carolina and St. Mary's.
Long Beach started the game out well shooting 9-20 (.450) in the first half. After the half, the Sun Devils stepped up on defense forcing 21 missed shots, making LBSU shoot only 7-of-28 in the second half and 16-of-48 (.333) for the game.
Kyle Cain, Ty Abbott, and Trent Lockett were the leading scorers for ASU. Abbott led with15 points. Rihards Kuksiks passed the 1,000-point career mark with his nine-point performance. The Sun Devils as a team shot a season-high (.833) from the free throw line (10-of-12).
" We're not where I want to be right now, but I think were making progress and I really want to be encouraging to our guys," Coach Sendek said after being asked on what he thinks about looking forward to the rest of the season.
The Sun Devils next game is at home against North Carolina A&T at Wells Fargo Arena. Tip-off is set for noon (MT) on Thursday, December 23. This game will be televised live by Fox Sports Arizona.