Fork Report: Bachynski’s triple double paces Devils
Dec 8, 2012, 10:15 PM | Updated: 10:15 pm
TEMPE — Arizona State has had a lot of great basketball players in their history, but none of them had ever accomplished what junior center Jordan Bachynski did Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.
Bachynski scored 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked a school-record 12 shots for the first-ever triple-double in Sun Devil basketball history. Oh, and ASU pushed their record to 8-1 with an 87-76 win over Cal State Northridge.
Bachynski had missed a triple-double in ASU’s season-opening win over Central Arkansas by one block.
The Good
Outside of Bachynski’s historic day, plenty of other Sun Devils enjoyed solid afternoons. Freshman point guard Jahii Carson scored a game-high 21 points and added four assists. Backcourt mate Evan Gordon contributed 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added three steals.
Carrick Felix had 17 points, and electrified the crowd with his hustle play and array of dunks. And Jonathan Gilling quietly added 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
ASU also continued to take care of the basketball, committing only 11 turnovers on the day. It was the third straight game in which the Devils had 11 or less turnovers.
The Sun Devils also lived at the free throw line. While shooting only 64% from the stripe, ASU shot 42 free throws on the day, compared to Northridge’s 12.
The Bad
The starters were all good, but head coach Herb Sendek got very little from his bench in the contest. Chris Colvin, Eric Jacobsen and Bo Barnes combined for just 4 points — all from the free throw line.
Noted
• Bachynski, for the season, has 50 blocked shots and only 15 fouls. Saturday, Bachynski played 32 minutes without a foul.
• Bachynski’s triple-double was the first in the Pac-12 since Daniel Hackett had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for USC in a win over South Carolina on November 17, 2007.
He Said It
“Anytime you have a shot blocker like that, it’s not only the ones he gets, but the opponent can’t help but start thinking about it a little bit. He’s also changing some other shots as well.” — ASU head coach Herb Sendek on Bachynski’s defensive presence.
Up Next
The Sun Devils host the DePaul Blue Demons Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. DePaul beat ASU last season during the Old Spice Classic in Orlando 68-64.
