STANFORD, Calif. - It's official: The ASU men's basketball team is legit.
Not fazed by an 18-point setback against then-No. 14 UA in last week's Pac-10 opener, ASU continued its march toward respect Thursday with a convincing 81-69 victory over Stanford before 5,988 at Maples Pavilion.
The win snapped a 13-game losing streak against Stanford and marked ASU's first win at renovated Maples since the 1997-98 season. It also marked the first win against the Cardinal for ASU coach Rob Evans, whose teams went 0-12 against former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery.
Some will claim that the victory was watered down, kind of like ASU's non-conference schedule. Stanford (6-7, 0-3 Pac-10) has struggled under first-year coach Trent Johnson and played Thursday without junior guard Chris Hernandez, who was sidelined with back spasms.
There certainly weren't any complaints coming from the Sun Devils' locker room.
"I think we're legit," ASU senior guard Steve Moore said. "That's for you guys [the media] to determine. We thought we were legit after the loss to Arizona. Coach told us to put it behind us and said we had to go take care of business."
Moore and junior forward Ike Diogu were the catalysts in perhaps ASU's most efficient outing of the season, combining for 47 points on 17 of 28 shooting from the field. Diogu led the way with 28 points and 15 rebounds, despite sitting nearly 10 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. Moore finished with 19 points after sparking ASU (12-2, 1-1) early in the second half with a three-pointer and a three-point play.
The Sun Devils outplayed Stanford in almost every phase of the game. They shot 52.7 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from three-point range. They generated 17 assists off 29 field goals. And they forced 12 turnovers and held Stanford to 39.1 percent shooting.
"I had beaten every [Pac-10] team but this ballclub," Evans said. "In that regard, it's a nice feeling. But I can't get caught up in any euphoria. I've got a ballgame on Saturday [against California] and we've got a lot of games left to play."
Looking disorganized without Hernandez, Stanford never got closer than eight points in the second half. The Cardinal went on an 8-0 run to pull within 68-57 with 5:42 left, but ASU answered with a three-point play from Diogu and a bucket from Moore to put the game out of reach.
The key was the consistent efforts that ASU received across the board.
Senior guard Jason Braxton stayed in control with eight points and seven assists. Sophomore forward Serge Angounou added eight points and four rebounds and sophomore guard Kevin Kruger had seven points. Seldom-used junior forward Allen Morill also played a large role, scoring eight points, including six in the first half with Diogu on the bench.
"A lot of people around the Pac-10 and a lot of people who watch us play just think it's me," Diogu said. "But I keep telling them that I have capable teammates. They've been doing it all season long. It was thanks to those guys that we were able to push up the lead."
Sounds like a legitimized team.
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.
