Sun Devils beat Wildcats 49-39

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) Eric Jacobsen had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Arizona State withstood a shaky second half to beat Bethune-Cookman 49-39 Monday night.

Arizona State (2-0) followed an impressive opening victory over Chicago State by dominating Bethune-Cookman (1-1) early.

The Sun Devils were at their share-the-ball best while building a 21-point lead in the opening 14 minutes, but struggled in the second half after the Wildcats went to a zone.

Jon Gilling added 11 points for Arizona State, which had 19 turnovers and shot 5 of 17 in the second half.

Bethune-Cookman fought back after falling into the big hole, pulling within 47-39 on a long 3-pointer my Mikel Trapp with about 90 seconds left.

Quentin Brewer and Clemmye Owens each scored nine points for Bethune-Cookman, which shot 31 percent and went 4 of 16 from 3-point range.

The Sun Devils had a successful debut with their new-look team in the opener.

Facing Chicago State, Arizona State didn't seem to miss Jahii Carson, Jordan Bachynski and Jermaine Marshall, cruising to an 86-50 win on Friday.

Moving the ball just as coach Herb Sendek wanted, the Sun Devils shot 61 percent and were pretty good defensively, too, holding Chicago State to 32 percent shooting.

Arizona State kept it rolling against Bethune-Cookman, scoring the game's first 10 points and extending the lead to 25-4.

The Sun Devils led 33-14 at halftime and 6-foot-10 Jacobsen gave the Wildcats fits inside, scoring 11 points in the first half while getting to the free-throw line seven times (five makes).

Arizona State's aggressive defense gave Bethune-Cookman all kinds of problems, too.

The Wildcats missed 16 of their first 18 shots and all eight of their 3-point attempts while going 5 for 24 overall.

Bethune-Cookman was able to slow the Sun Devils a little in the second half by going to a zone defense and had a little better flow offensively, going on a late 15-3 run to make it close.

It wasn't quite enough after the hole Arizona State put the Wildcats in the first half.

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TIP-INS

Bethune-Cookman: The Wildcats made 9 of 20 shots in the second half. ... Trapp had five points on 2-of-7 shooting after scoring 26 in the opener.

Arizona State: Arizona State's record for fewest points allowed in the first half is 12, last accomplished in 2009. ... The Sun Devils had had 13 assists on 14 field goals, but went nearly eight minutes without a field goal during one stretch of the second half.

UP NEXT

Bethune-Cookman faces Monmouth in West Long Branch, New Jersey on Friday.

Arizona State hosts Loyola Marymount on Thursday.