For their third game of the season against the Highlanders from UC Riverside, Arizona State came out with a different look, starting Jamal Hill and Wilfried Fameni over game 1 and 2 starters Tron Smith and Keith Wooden. Even with a new lineup, the Sun Devils were up to their old tricks, starting very sluggish, which Rob Evans, Ike Diogu, and Jamal Hill all admitted to after the game. It took a career high of 31 points from Ike Diogu to overcome UC Riverside. ASU was trailing by 6 points at halftime, 31-37, to a UC Riverside team that was picked to finish somewhere between 5th and 7th in the Big West after finishing 9th out of 10 teams last year with a 6-18 overall record. But do not be fooled by those stats, many in the Big West claim UC Riverside to have the best 1-2 tandem in Vili Morton and Nate Carter, both preseason all-conference selections, as well as a very well respected coach, John Masi, who in 25 years at UC Riverside, has a record of 442-235. In the first half, the Sun Devils shot a bit better percentage wise over the Highlanders, they took 9 fewer shots, and had 8 turnovers to UC’s 3, which were the causes for the 6 point deficit.

Even though they were losing at halftime, Rob Evans said he wasn’t worried, because he is playing many players, trying to get a feel for who will be best suited to help ASU later in the season. It is a work in progress, and with so many people coming in and out, they will not be playing nearly as consistent as they will when the Pac-10 season comes around, and all that matters now is to get the victory and the experience on the younger players. Sparking the Sun Devils comeback in the 2nd half was Ike Diogu and Wilfried Fameni. Ike scored 19 of his 31 in the second half, and Wilfried scored 12 of his 16. On top of his 31 points, Ike Diogu had 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, as well as 5 turnovers. It did not seem like he was playing his best, but when the Devils got the Highlanders big men in foul trouble, fouling two of them out, it made for easier points from Ike and Wilfried. Wilfried added 16 points and 13 rebounds, along with 2 blocks in by far his most action of the season, with 32 minutes. Jason Braxton played 35 minutes and had 7 assists and 6 points, but also had 5 turnovers. Also seeing over 30 minutes of playing time was Steve Moore, who had 16 points, most of them coming in the first half. In his first start of the season, and 5th at ASU, Jamal Hill did not hit a shot, and was mainly a nonfactor, along with Kenny Crandall, who played 12 minutes, and seemed to be costing the Devils on the defensive end for much of the time he was playing.

For the Highlanders, their stars Vili Morton and Nate Carter had 19 and 18 points respectively, while Marton also had a team high of 9 rebounds and 5 assists. The other player in double figures for UC Riverside was Kevin Butler with 11 points, and Matt Benson came close with 9. ASU picked up their shooting in the second half, shooting 61.9%, finishing the game at 53.2%, and they were 19 for 22 from the line in the second half, shooting 75% for the game. The Sun Devils outscored UC Riverside 46-31 in the second half to give them their third win of the season.

-ASU takes their first road trip of the season, heading to Lincoln, Nebraska to play the Cornhuskers on Wed. December 3rd.

-The 36 personal fouls by Cal State Fullerton on Monday, November 24th, tied a record for fouls by an opposing team at Wells Fargo Arena. It tied the record set by Washington State on Feb. 27th, 1986. The most fouls ASU has had in Wells Fargo Arena is 34.

-Ike Diogu is currently 5th in the nation in scoring, averaging 25.7 points per game, and is first in the nation in free throws made and attempted per game, averaging 11.7 makes out of 14.7 attempts.