Posted at 2:03 p.m., Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Arizona St. routs Princeton in Maui Invitational, 61-42
Associated Press
LAHAINA, Maui — James Harden scored 22 points and fellow freshman Ty Abbott had 19 as Arizona State beat Princeton 61-42 today in the consolation round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.The Sun Devils (1-1) will play LSU, which beat Chaminade 78-72, for fifth place on Wednesday.
Harden and Abbott were two of the three freshmen who started — and struggled — for Arizona State in a season-opening 77-54 loss to Illinois. Things were a lot different for them in their second college game.
They and Jamelle McMillan combined to go 4-for-19 from the field for 17 points in the loss to Illinois. Harden was 8-for-12 from the field against Princeton, including one monster, one-handed dunk, while Abbott was 6-for-9, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range. McMillan didn't score in 11 minutes against the Tigers.
Marcus Schroeder had 12 points for Princeton (2-2), which went 5-for-26 from 3-point range, including making just one of 12 attempts in the second half.
The game was a matchup of very similar styles. Both teams run a spread-the-court, patient offense and play primarily zone defense. Arizona State did a much better job at both.
The Sun Devils led 31-27 at halftime and opened the second half on an 11-2 run that Abbott started with a 3-pointer and included two baskets down low from Harden.
As Princeton continued to struggle from long range, Abbott and Harden combined for 10 of the Sun Devils' last 14 points. Princeton had two points over the final 6:54 — free throws by Bobby Foley with 41 seconds to play.
Arizona State shot 51.1 percent for the game (23-for-45), including 6-for-13 on 3s.
Princeton, which lost 83-61 to No. 13 Duke in the first round, shot 33 percent overall (14-for-42) and committed an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers.
