Derek Glasser had 20 points, 4 assists and 4 steals and freshman Trent Lockett came off the bench to score 17 as Arizona State beat Texas State 84-62 in the opening round of the preseason NIT at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devil defense held the Bobcats to 36.2% shooting from the field, 21.7% from three-point range and forced 27 turnovers in the win.
Ty Abbott was back for the Devils following knee surgery, and played 14 minutes off the bench, scoring 11 points.
“It’s gonna take some time for him to get in shape and catch up,” ASU head coach Herb Sendek said. “But obviously he gave us a huge lift in the first half. We went on a big spurt when he hit a couple shots and energized our team like he always does.”
Abbott had 8 points during a 16-2 run over the last five minutes of the first half that saw a Texas State one-point lead turn into a 13-point bulge in ASU’s favor at halftime.
Senior center Eric Boateng also tied a career high with 14 points, while grabbing 9 rebounds for the Sun Devils, who play TCU Tuesday night in the West Championship of the Preseason NIT. The winner moves on to take on the East champion, either Duke or Charlotte next week at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Arizona State Basketball Postgame Audio
Head Coach Herb SendekFreshman guard Trent Lockett
