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Arizona State routs UC Santa Barbara 69-42

Dec 22, 2009 - 3:38 AM By ANDREW BAGNATO AP Basketball Writer

TEMPE, Ariz.(AP) -- Rihards Kuksiks scored 24 points on a career-high eight 3-pointers, and Derek Glasser became Arizona State's all-time assists leader in a 69-42 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Monday night.

Kuksiks hit seven 3-pointers in the first half as the Sun Devils (9-3) won their third straight. He finished 8-of-16 from beyond the arc, falling two buckets shy of the Pac-10 and school records.

Orlando Johnson scored 16 points for the Gauchos (4-4), who have dropped four straight.

Glasser, a senior from Marina del Rey, Calif., finished with seven assists and has 461 for his career.

During the next stop in play, Glasser received a standing ovation from the sparse Wells Fargo Arena crowd when his record was announced.

Glasser broke the mark on a dish to Kuksiks, who nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing in the first minute. Glasser earned his 455th career assist on the play, breaking a tie with Bobby Thompson, the school leader since 1987.

Kuksiks came out blazing against the Gauchos' zone defense, which gave him plenty of open space on the perimeter. He hit five of his first eight from beyond the arc as the Sun Devils raced to a 27-16 lead midway through the first half.

Kuksiks had seven 3-pointers - and 21 total points - at halftime, leaving him three shy of the conference and school record with 20 minutes to play.

Kuksiks connected only once in five tries after intermission.

Arizona State improved to 8-1 at home. The Sun Devils play host to South Carolina-Upstate on Wednesday. UC Santa Barbara is off until Dec. 28, when it meets Furman in the opener of the Golden Bear Classic at Berkeley, Calif.