Ellenson MVP as Marquette tops Arizona St. in OT, wins Legends Classic
NEW YORK — Henry Ellenson spent portions of Tuesday getting his shin wrapped.
The freshman forward spent the other part of the day making clutch plays for Marquette.
Ellenson began slowly but scored 14 of his 18 points after halftime, leading the Golden Eagles to a 78-73 overtime victory over Arizona State in the championship game of the Legends Classic on Tuesday.
Ellenson earned MVP honors of the tournament, an award that had been expected to go to LSU freshman forward Ben Simmons. Ellinson began 2 of 7 against ASU while dealing with a minor shin injury which required taping. When he was not getting taped up, Ellenson made key plays down the stretch giving the Golden Eagles (3-2) a second straight win after last Thursday's blowout loss to Iowa at home.
"I was able to play through it," Ellenson said. "It was tough right away but it worked out. I was always going to play. I'm a tough guy. I was determined to get back on the court."
Marquette never trailed in overtime after using a 12-2 run to rally from an eight-point deficit with about seven minutes remaining in regulation. Ellenson hit a jumper on the Golden Eagles' first possession of overtime, knocked down two free throws with 32 seconds left before getting the rebound of Gerry Blakes' missed layup with 10 seconds left.
"He played a huge second half for us," Marquette coach Steve Wojciehowski said. "He made some big time plays and he was terrific."
Ellenson was among five in double figures for the Golden Eagles.
"He made a lot of big plays down the stretch," Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley said. "He didn't have a great stat line at the half but he came through like a lot of great players do."
Luke Fischer also scored 18 before fouling out, getting six during Marquette's comeback. Duane Wilson added 14, Traci Carter chipped in 13 while Haanif Cheatham had 12.
"He played a heckuva game," Fischer said of Ellenson. "We weren't really sure at halftime what he was going to be able to do. He came out. He showed that he had the fight. He showed the will to win and he was able to help us with this victory."
Tra Holder led the Sun Devils with 15 and Blakes added 13. Willie Atwood had 11 points and 10 boards, but Savon Goodman was held to nine points after getting 21 and 15 rebounds in Monday's win over North Carolina State.
Arizona State shot 38 percent and missed 11 of 13 shots during the final seven minutes of regulation.
"They just made a few more plays than we did down the stretch and that was the result," Hurley said.
TIP-INS
Marquette: Faced Arizona State for the third consecutive season. Last year the Golden Eagles were 78-71 winners in Milwaukee. Two years ago, the Sun Devils claimed a 79-77 home win. The Golden Eagles have won five regular-season tournaments in the last 11 years and three have been in overtime.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils have not won a November tournament since beating Maryland for the 1994 Maui Invitational title. Even with an off night, forward Savon Goodman is still shooting well. Over his past 17 games, he is shooting 90-of-147 (61.2 percent).
UP NEXT
Marquette: Jackson State on Sunday.
Arizona State: UC-Santa Barbara on Sunday.
