Arizona State Dismantles UNLV in 2nd Half

Following a slow start in which the Arizona State Sun Devils trailed 21-6 to the UNLV Rebels, the Sun Devils rallied back in the second half to come away victorious 77-55 on Wednesday for coach Herb Sendek’s 400th career victory.

Arizona State was able to improve to 5-2 on the season behind the strong play of junior center Eric Jacobsen. Jacobsen finished with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, while chipping in with four assists and three blocked shots. As if that weren’t good enough he also drew two charges on the Rebels.

Dec 3, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils forward Eric Jacobsen (21) grabs a rebound against UNLV Runnin

Jacobsen’s play helped the Sun Devil faithful forget all about the atrocious start to the game. UNLV started the game nine for 13 from the field to jump up to the 15 point advantage. Soon there after UNLV cooled off from the field, while on the opposite side of the court the Sun Devils were heating up.

A pair of three-pointers from Bo Barnes and Jonathan Gilling sparked the rally. Kodi Justice then chipped in with five quick points and out of nowhere the UNLV advantage was gone and the game was tied 37-37 heading into the locker rooms at half time.

A 40-18 score differential in the Sun Devils favor during the second half was the difference in the game as the Sun Devils began to nail shot after shot. It was bad news for the UNLV offense when UNLV’s leading scorer Rashad Vaughn (17.7 ppg) left the game with a back injury as the offense often looked very stagnant in the final 20 minutes.

Dec 3, 2014; Tempe, AZ, USA; UNLV Runnin

Justice finished the game with 13 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Gerry Blakes also had a nice game finishing with 11 points and nine boards.

Arizona State improves to 5-0 at home this year, extending their home win streak to 13 games with their last home loss being against Washington on January 2nd last year.

The Sun Devils will be back in action on Saturday when they head to College Station, Texas to take on the Texas A&M Aggies.