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Harden, Arizona State bombard lowly Idaho State

Dec 24, 2008 - 12:07 AM TEMPE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Arizona State did not have to sweat out this one.

James Harden led five players in double figures with 18 points as the 17th-ranked Sun Devils rolled to a 90-55 victory over Idaho State on Tuesday.

Rihards Kuksiks had 15 points and Ty Abbott added 14 for Arizona State (10-1), which had won its last two games by one point each. The Sun Devils overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to force overtime against IUPUI before winning, 59-58, on December 14.

ASU then escaped with a 76-75 win over Brigham Young on Saturday when a basket at the buzzer was waived off.

There was no such suspense in this one, though. The Sun Devils, who are off to their best start in 34 years, hit a school-record 17 3-pointers and shot 50 percent overall (28-of-55).

"In 30 years, I don't think I've been involved in a game where the opponent shot the ball that well for that long," Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien told The Arizona Republic.

The long-range onslaught began in the first half, when 10 of Arizona State's 14 made field goals were 3-pointers.

"Our guys were really sharp," Arizona State coach Herb Sendek told The Republic. "I was really pleased with the way they made each other better and helped each other. I thought we really played excellent team basketball on both ends of the floor. It was a fun game to watch."

"Five guys in double figures, that's pretty good," Harden told the newspaper.

Kuksiks led the way, connecting on 4-of-5 attempts, and Harden and Abbott each hit three in the opening 20 minutes. Abbott and Harden each hit a 3-pointer in an 11-5 run that gave Arizona State a 43-28 lead heading into the locker room.

Kuksiks finished 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, Abbott was 4-of-6 and Harden went 3-of-6.

Things got out of hand early in the second half, as the Sun Devils opened on a 27-7 run and took a 70-35 lead with 10:35 left.

Idaho State never got closer than 34 the rest of the way.

Kal Bay had 12 points for the Bengals (2-9), who shot 43 percent (22-of-51) and have lost four straight.

Derek Glasser had 11 points and matched his career best with nine assists for Arizona State.

The Sun Devils host Central Connecticut State on December 29 before opening Pac-10 play against Stanford on January 2.