Fork Report: Arizona State tops UCLA behind Savon Goodman’s perfect shooting
Feb 19, 2015, 5:18 AM | Updated: 5:28 am
TEMPE, Ariz. — The 7,873 inside Wells Fargo Arena held their collective breath.
Only after UCLA sophomore guard Isaac Hamilton’s buzzer-beating 3-point attempt bounced off the rim and harmlessly to the floor did the Sun Devil crowd exhale, erupting to applaud Arizona State’s 68-66 win over UCLA.
The Sun Devils did not make a field goal the final 4:04, but hit 7-of-10 free throws, including going 2-of-4 in the last 19 seconds to secure the victory, the team’s second straight and third in four games.
ASU (14-12, 6-7) placed three players in double figures.
No one was better than sophomore forward Savon Goodman who shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the field for a game-high 20 points. He also grabbed a game-best 12 rebounds to record his second double-double in as many games.
Senior forward Shaquielle McKissic scored 14 and freshman guard Tra Holder added 13 plus seven assists and five rebounds.
The Sun Devils, who have now won three of the past five matchups in Tempe, overcame a four-point halftime deficit, outscoring the Bruins 36-30 in the second half.
UCLA (16-11, 8-6) was led by senior guard Norman Powell’s 16 points.
THE GOOD
Down 10 late in the first half, the Sun Devils scored nine unanswered points, including back-to-back three-point plays by McKissic and Goodman, the later coming on an alley-oop dunk with the pass coming from Holder, who capped the run with a 3, the only one he made all game.
Senior guard Bo Barnes scored all eight of his points in the second half. His 3 with 4:04 to play was the last made field goal by the Sun Devils. Barnes had missed the previous game at Washington because of a sprained ankle, but returned to action, playing 21 minutes.
The Sun Devils outscored the Bruins in both points in the paint (36-22) and on second-chance opportunities (17-9).
THE BAD
The Sun Devils burned a timeout just 44 seconds into the game. Powell and freshman forward Kevon Looney both scored layups to give the Bruins an early 4-0 advantage. Powell finished with 12 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 1-of-2 from the foul line.
The Bruins scored 10 straight points, part of a larger 14-2 run to take a 26-18 lead at 7:55 of the first half. Sophomore swingman Noah Allen highlighted the stretch banking a 3 from the top of the key. He entered the game only 3-of-18 from beyond the arc in conference play.
The Bruins scored 15 points off of the Sun Devils’ 15 turnovers.
STAT OF THE GAME
39-27: The Sun Devils rebounding advantage, including 12-8 on the offensive end against the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the conference.
HE SAID IT (part 1)
“One of the big keys tonight was the improvement in our defense the second half. You know the first half we gave up over 50 percent, but the second half, just looking here at the stat sheet, it was 36.7. I thought our guys had a number of really big stops and really competed on the defensive end of the floor.” — Head coach Herb Sendek
HE SAID IT (part 2)
“I actually didn’t know until the end of the game that I shot perfect from the field. It’s unbelievable. The win just iced it. If we lose that game down the stretch, that 20 points, eight-for-eight from the field, that doesn’t means nothing at the end of the day. I’m just glad we got out of our house with a win.” — Savon Goodman on his performance
NOTED
Over his last four games, Goodman is averaging 15.5 points and 12 rebounds
Of the 17 lead changes in the game, 13 came in the second half, including six in a near five-minute stretch
At halftime, the Sun Devils honored James Harden, raising his No. 13 jersey into the rafters alongside Joe Caldwell (32), Lionel Hollins (33), Eddie House (5), Fat Lever (12), Alton Lister (53) and Byron Scott (11)
Senior forward Jon Gilling played his 124th game, tied for the fifth-most in school history, trailing only Derek Glasser (131, 2006-10), Ty Abbott (130, 2007-11), Jerren Shipp (129, 2006-10), Jeff Pendergraph (126, 2005-09) and Eddie House (124, 1996-2000)
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils stay home to host the USC Trojans on Sunday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
ASU has won four of the past five matchups, including a 79-60 victory at USC last season. Senior center Jordan Bachynski led four players in double figures, scoring 20 points. He also grabbed 12 rebounds in the victory on Jan. 9, 2014.
This marks the second straight season in which the Sun Devils and Trojans meet only once.
