Torian Graham leads ASU in exhibition win against UC Santa Cruz
Nov 3, 2016, 10:10 PM | Updated: 10:10 pm
Transfer Torian Graham scored 23 points and the Arizona State Sun Devils recovered from a sluggish start to beat UC Santa Cruz 98-53 in a Thursday exhibition.
The Banana Slugs led 12-4 just more than three minutes in before Bobby Hurley’s ASU team woke up. The Sun Devils began pulling away in the final nine minutes of the first half when a 46-23 lead resulted from a 23-2 run to close the first 20 minutes.
Graham, who followed Hurley from Buffalo and sat out last season due to transfer rules, hit five three-pointers and went 9-of-16 from the floor in 21 minutes off the bench. The former 4-star high school recruit added three assists and two steals.
Forward Obinna Oleka added 18 points, while guard Tra Holder added 15 points. Shannon Evans, who like Graham sat out 2015-16 after transferring from Buffalo, led ASU with five assists.
Freshman forward Sam Cunliffe added 15 points. He joined Holder, Evans, Oleka and Kodi Justice in the starting lineup.
ASU shot 46 percent overall and hit 38 percent (11-of-29) of its three-pointers.
